No Regrets
by Taku
Summary: The war has ended and Naruto returns with Sasuke. This is the story of events that happen after.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Shonen Jump magazine.

No Regrets

Prologue : An all too familiar scene

The setting sun hovered over the mountain ridges to the west, the afternoon heat already dissipating along with it. He had been walking for what felt like hours and the long path leading to his destination just didn't seem to end. His breathing had become laborous and his muscles burned with exhaustion, but he couldn't stop now, no, he wouldn't stop, he still had a promise to fullfill afterall, and Uzumaki Naruto never backed out on a promise.

Naruto thought that he could almost make out the village just ahead, it was hard to tell with his hair in the way, when had he lost his hitaiate? He couldn't remember, it was becoming harder to focus. He used what little strength he had to hoist the figure on his back for more support and continued to make his way.

"You should've just left me to die." said the figure on Naruto's back. There was no malice or contempt in the words, only regret.

"And miss out on all the praise and glory for finally bringing Uchiha Sasuke back to the village? Not a chance. They'll probably make me Hokage for this." Naruto smirked jokingly, well tried to at least, even his face hurt at this point.

"They won't accept me back, not now, not after everything I've done." Sasuke said in a somber tone.

Because of Sasuke's hatred for Itachi, he drove his obsession for revenge down one dark path after another until he was past the point of no return. Even after Sasuke found out the truth behind Itachi's actions, he still couldn't stop himself redirecting that anger back at Konoha.

"Don't underestimate the people of Konoha, they can surprise you sometimes." Naruto said confidently. If the village was finally able to accept the container of the nine tailed demon fox, it wouldn't be long for them to be able to forgive Sasuke, thats how Naruto felt at least.

"You should be the last person to forgive me, yet here you are trying to comfort me."

Truth be told, Naruto really didn't blame Sasuke at all, rather he understood him in an odd way. "I asked myself once, if things had gone differently would I have done the same as you. We could have easily been in each others shoes." After his fight with Pein, Naruto somehow was able to understand Sasuke's pain a little.

"Hn, I don't get you dobe..."

Naruto felt Sasuke go unconscious. _He must have lost too much blood, I have to get him to Ba-chan fast_. Naruto focused the last of his chakara to his feet and dashed for Konoha. He just hoped that there would be someone at the gates, he didn't know if he could make it any farther than that.

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Hatake Kakashi turned another page of the book he was reading, Icha Icha Paradise, the popular adult novel written by the famous sage Jiraiya. Although it seemed like he was casually leaning against the wall with his face buried in the book oblivious to the world, he was actually watching one of his former students pace back and forth just outside of the main gates, only stopping to look down the path for a few moments before going back to the frantic pacing again.

Kakashi closed the book and stowed it away for later. "Sakura, its been three days since everyone else came back, waiting here everyday won't make him return any sooner." He was concerned for the pink haired girl.

Just over a week ago, Naruto and a team of some of Konoha's best set off to confront Uchiha Madara as well as Uchiha Sasuke to finally end the war, only to have the team return three days ago without Naruto. The short version that the Jonin got of Shikamaru's report was that Naruto confronted Sasuke while the rest of the team took on Madara and Zetsu, the last two remaining members of Akatsuki. After a short while Madara left the battle and by the time the team defeated zetsu and made it to where Naruto and Sasuke was, they arrived only to see Madara perform some kind of space time jutsu and the three of them disappeared. They searched for them for two days before finally returning to Konoha three days ago.

"If it was me out there missing, Naruto would never have stopped looking for me, not even if it took him the rest of his life." The pink haired girl looked to be almost on the verge of tears. "I should have been there Kakashi sensei! I should have been by Naruto's side!"

The silver haired jonin watched as the girl fought hard to hold back her tears only to fail. "You can't blame yourself for not being there Sakura, your skills were needed at the hospital." Sakura was wiping at her tears with the backs of her hands. "If you had gone with him, it might have turned out with the both of you missing." Kakashi winced at his poor choice of words, that had not come out the way he intended at all.

Sakura started to full out cry as he walked over and gently hugged her to comfort her. "There is so much that I want to say to Naruto and now i might not have the chance to tell him" she regretted as she cried into Kakashi's shoulder.

"I don't believe it." Kakashi said in amazment.

Sakura looked up at her former sensei and sniffed with a puzzled expression, only to follow his gaze down the road at a figure running towards them while carrying someone on their back.

"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled out in a tone that somehow sounded relieved and worried at the same time. Both Sakura and Kakashi ran towards Naruto hastily.

Meeting halfway, Naruto fell to his knees exhausted, not getting one more step closer. Kakashi couldn't believe the condition he saw Naruto in, it was a surprise that the boy was even able to stay conscious, and Sasuke didn't seem to be any better.

"Sasu..." Sakura started with a worried expression before getting interrupted by Naruto.

"There is no time to explain Sakura-chan. You have to get him to the hospital immediately, Kakashi sensei and I will go and get ba-chan and we'll meet you there." Naruto didn't give Sakura anytime to react or respond as he gently passed Sasuke off to the girl.

Sakura gave Naruto a hesitant look as she took Sasuke on her back. "You have to hurry!" Naruto commanded.

Sakura nodded in aknowledgement before bounding off towards the hospital.

Kakashi watched the scene play out with curiosity, why had Naruto given Sasuke to Sakura instead of to him?

"Kashashi sensei..." Naruto said weakily, he was still looking in the direction that the other two members of the former team seven had gone. "Get Ba-chan to Sasuke, he's injured pretty badly and he may be just hanging on by a thread..."

The blonde swayed foward as he fainted but Kakashi gently supported him before he could hit the ground. He let out an understanding sigh. "Always looking out for others before yourself. You're not any better off you know." Kakashi commented to himself.

Naruto had made sure that Sasuke would be first to get treatment as well as not letting Sakura see himself faint.

The silver haired jonin shifted Naruto onto his back and performed a series of hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" In a puff of smoke, Pakkun instantly appeared before the summoner. "Inform the Hokage that she is needed at the hospital immediately." he instructed.

Pakkun gave Naruto an expressionless glance before nodding. "Understood." With that the ninja dog dashed off towards the Hokage's office.

Kakashi disappeared with the blonde in a whirl of leaves not a moment after.

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An all too familiar scene laid before him as he slowly opened his eyes. He could never get use to the dreary sewer like setting that represented the passage way to the Kyubi's chamber. As if routine, he got up and made his way down one passage, not that he knew where he was going. There was no direction here, or a sense of time, only a sense of emptiness.

After what seemed like an eternity and an instant at the same time, he arrived at the large open chamber with the massive barred cell where his prisoner resided. Something was different this time though, he couldn't feel the dense presence of the demon fox that he usually got. Somehow in this dream state, his mouth felt dry.

Naruto licked his lips and made his way closer, half expecting the fox to spring forth from the cell and devour him, but nothing happened. That is when he noticed a smudge where the seal had been and charred remains on the floor, the cell was empty.

Abrubtly, Naruto woke up once more in another all too familiar scene, a hospital room.

"You had us worried. Hokage-sama said that you have never been unconscious for so long before."

He felt weak, it was an effort just to look towards the voice that was speaking to him. _Why is Ino here?_

"I bet you're thirsty as hell." she giggled. Ino set down the book she was reading and walked over from the chair she was sitting in to the night stand next to his bed and poored water into a glass from a pitcher there. "All of us took turns watching over you. You're lucky that you woke up on my turn." she stated as she braced his head and held the glass to his mouth. "I mean who else out of us would be so gentle with you." she smiled sweetly at him.

Naruto hesitantly drank the much needed liquid while curiously eyeing the girl. He was very confused. For as long as he has known the platinum blonde kunoichi, she had never been so kind to him before. _Genjutsu_? A pretty bad one if it was.

Ino gently laid his head back and set the glass down as she continued with her one way conversation. "Chouji snuck in some snacks for you, says that you would definately be hungry once you woke up." she said as she gestured to the assorted snacks on the stand.

Naruto had yet to say a word to her, only just stared and listened. Why was she just talking on her own? Almost as if she was avoiding something.

"Shikamaru says you're a terrible shogi opponent while unconscious by the way." she joked. "Oh and Hinata's been here almost every single day you sly devil" she winked knowingly.

"Sakura-chan..." he said hoarsly, interrupting her.

Was that remorse he saw in her face? It was gone before he could tell.

"Sakura, she's..." Ino started hesitantly.

The door to his room opened and Tsunade stormed in with an irritated frown, although one look at Naruto, the frown was replaced by a relieved smile and then the same remorseful expression that he thought he had seen in Ino, but it too was gone and replaced quickly.

"Ino will you give me a moment with naruto please?" It came out more like an order than a request.

"Of coarse Hokage-sama." Ino bowed. "Its almost time for me to get back to the shop any way. I'll see you around Naruto." She glanced back at Naruto once more with a sympathetic smile on her way out before closing the door and exiting.

Tsunade walked over and embraced Naruto in a loving hug. "Im relieved you are awake Naruto. I was getting worried you wouldn't wake up at all."

She sat down next to him on the bed and continued with a tired tone. "I'm not gonna beat around the bush, not with you." she said sympathetically.

"I have some bad news and some worse news..."

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Shonen Jump magazine as well as other license holders of the Naruto series.

No Regrets

Chapter one : Bad News and Worse News

"Why don't you give up already? I'm tired of playing this game of tag." the enemy ninja called out.

He was at a disadvantage, his chakara was low, and all he had left were two smoke bombs and a kunai. He tossed the bombs at his opponent without a second thought and leaped into action.

"Smoke bombs huh?" the enemy smirked.

His enemy blocked the kunai strikes with ease and rendered him into submission. "Give up." his opppenent demanded.

"Can I say something?"

"I don't feel like listening to you!" The man slammed him into the tree and thrusted the kunai into his chest. "Just shut up and die!"

"Give up trying to..." the kage bunshin dispelled into a puff of smoke. "Make me give up!" the original finished saying from behind. He struck his enemy in a vital spot behind the neck and the man collapsed from the blow.

"Even if you defeat me, other assassins will soon attack this village...as long as we live in this accursed world of shinobi, there will be no peace." the fallen ninja managed to say weakly.

"Then I will end this curse. If there is such a thing as peace, then I shall grasp it! I will never give up!" he retorted with unbreakable determination.

"What is your name." the fallen ninja asked.

"My name is...Naruto!"

Ino gently closed the book and stared at the cover with a soft expression. "The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja." the title read. She looked over at the sleeping form of Naruto on the hospital bed. "Somehow I can't help but think that this book was about you." she said to herself. She didn't see the obnoxious, loud mouth prankster that she once knew as a child. Instead was a courageous, kind, reliable friend. _Yes, friend_. She smiled softly

The platinum blonde noticed the boy begin to stir and frowned with worry. _Not another attack is it?_ She was about to run out and search for the Hokage but she saw Naruto slowly open his eyes and seem to take in his surroundings. She sighed with relief.

"You had us worried. Hokage-sama said that you have never been unconscious for so long before." As long as Ino has known the boy, she had never seen him in the hospital for more than a couple of days and Tsunade-sama had said that the longest he had ever been there was after his fight with Sasuke during the retrieval mission and even then it was only for a few days. Naruto had been unconscious for a month this time around.

Even with most of his face bandaged up, she could see the weak expression on his face. He looked like he wanted to say something but didn't have the strength to do so. "I bet you're thirsty as hell."

She set her novel down and walked over to him. As she was pooring him a glass of water, she stole a glance and saw his confused expression. "All of us took turns watching over you. You're lucky that you woke up on my turn." she started as she held the glass for him while he drank. "I mean who else out of us would be so gentle with you." Ino thought that the look of utter confusion on Naruto's face was so adorable, she couldn't help but smile.

She too was a bit surprised at first as well to find herself visiting the boy. He was the village hero, he stopped the war, and brought back Sasuke, She admired him a little.

Ino put the glass back down and continued as she tried to make idle conversation. The boy's silence was becoming uncomfortable. She rambled on about the other ninja that had come to visit him, she even threw in a comment about the boy's long time secret admirer Hinata, just to get a rise out of him.

"Sakura-chan..." the boy uttered weakly. The name almost made her wince. Of all the things that he could have said, why did he bring HER up.

Sakura was her closest and dearest friend, but the way that girl has been acting the past month made her want to beat some sense into her. Prior to the battle with Madara, it seemed that the pink haired girl was over their ex-teamate gone advenger, but as soon as Naruto brings him back, she was her oblivious to everyone else around her self again. The blonde kunoichi felt remorse for the boy.

"Sakura, she's..." She didn't even know where to begin.

The door opened and interrupted her, thankfully. She let out a breath of relief as she saw Konoha's leader walk in. _Saved by the Hokage. _ Somehow thinking that made her feel guilty.

"Ino will you give me a moment with naruto please?"

Ino knew a command from the Hokage when she heard one. She said her goodbyes to Naruto and quickly excused herself, but not before looking back with a sympathethic smile. _Hang in there Naruto_.

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The busty woman swiftly made her way down the hall ways of the hospital until a shade of pink caught the corner of her eye and stopped. _Sakura?_ On her way to see the Uchiha brat no doubt. Thats every day now for the past month without fail. Tsunade couldn't believe her student, the girl had been clinging to the bastard's side ever since Naruto had brought him back. Sure the boy may have been brought back in critical condition and it took every ounce of her skill to revive him, but he was alive. Naruto on the other hand was in a coma and had been since he got back a month ago.

Thats what really had Tsunade in a fowl mood. The only person she would even consider family other than Shizune was in a coma and for the life of her she couldn't snap him out of it. The boy's amazing healing ability was slower than usual, in fact much slower. Something was really not right with the Kyubi's power, but she wouldn't be able to find out what until the blonde boy came out of his coma. For now all she could do was keep monitoring him and hope that he would wake up soon.

She clicked her tongue in irritation and continued to Naruto's room. _I swear once Naruto wakes up, I'm going to give Sakura a tongue lashing about ignoring her other teamate._ She thought as she reached the boy's room and opened the door with a litter more force than intended.

The moment she entered and saw Naruto's bright blue eyes staring at her weakily, it was all she could do to not break down and sob in relief. Then she remembered what she would have to tell him, now that he was awake. _This isn't going to be easy. Not for me, and most definately not for you._

Tsunade saw that the Yamanaka girl was standing next to the boy's bed. _Interesting, but for another time_. "Ino will you give me a moment with naruto please?" She wanted to rush over and embrace the boy, but she would never show that side of herself to any of her subbordinates other than Shizune.

As soon as the young kunoichi closed the door, she had Naruto in her arms in a loving hug. "Im relieved you are awake Naruto. I was getting worried you wouldn't wake up at all." she wanted to do nothing but coddle the boy, but there was more pressing matters. She sighed tiredly and steeled herself for what she was about to tell him.

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"I have some bad news and some worse news..." He heard Tsunade say as he slowly sat up right.

A million senarios flashed through Naruto's thoughts as he heard Tsuande's words. _Did something happen to Sasuke? Sakura? Did Sasuke leave the village again? Did Sakura follow? _Then he imagined Sasuke and Sakura holding hands at a wedding alter, smiling at each other, himself as the Hokage officiating their marriage.

"First, how are you feeling."

The woman's words snapped him out of his delusions. "Probably better than I look." he tried to joke.

"You've been unconscious for a month now Naruto. Normally the Kyubi's chakara would have healed you fully weeks ago, but you seem to have been healing...well like a normal person. What worries me though are the periodic heart attacks you seem to have been having in your unconcious state."

He suddenly remembered the empty cage. "Now that you mention it..." _Was it a dream?_

Tsunade stared at him quizzically.

"Its nothing, I suppose I took one hell of a beating." he laughed embarrassedly while scratching the back of his head. _Better find out for sure before I worry Ba-Chan_.

"Well I still want to run some tests to be sure." She didn't give Naruto a chance to protest.

He only nodded in agreement. "Was that the worse news?" he questioned.

Tsunade hesitated for a moment before taking another breath and continued. "It's about Sasuke. He came back in a critical state...I...I was able to revive him and he is healing well now..." she paused.

"Well thats great news Ba-Chan!" Naruto laughed happily.

"But we had to remove his eyes..."

Naruto stopped laughing and gave her a nervous stare. "Heh...Sorry Ba-Chan, I missed what you just said..."

"We had to remove his eyes Naruto." she repeated in a firmer tone. "The strain he put on them was too much. If we had left them in, the chakara infection would have gone to his brain and killed him. Im... Im sorry Naruto but Uchiha Sasuke will no longer be able to see."

Naruto slammed his fist into the wall behind him as he gritted his teeth, small chunks of plaster from the hospital wall falling from the spiderweb crack that had formed arround his fist.

"Thats not possible!" He protested angrily

Tsunade gave him a hard stare. "Listen Naruto. Sasuke has lost his eyes, not his life. He should be thankful for that much." She seem to get angrier as she spoke "And unless someone is kind enough to donate their eyes to the poor bastard, he will continue to live without them!" She seem to emphasize the word live.

Naruto gave her a shocked expression.

She sighed and continued in a normal tone. "He may or may not continue to live as a ninja, that will be up to him, but if he does, it will be without the Sharingan. I'm sorry Naruto."

Naruto felt helpless. After everything he had gone through to bring his best friend back, he brought him back only for him to loose his eyes.

"You should rest Naruto. I'll send someone to check on you again." Tsunade sounded tired as she made her way to the door.

He felt guilty for lashing out. It wasn't her fault. He new that if she could have saved Sasuke's eyes without risking his life she would have done so. He didn't blame her, if anything it was all his fault. He should have tried harder! Been faster! Naruto tried to hold back the tears that were beginning to form as he clenched his fists.

He quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeves. "How is Sakura-chan doing." he asked dejectedly.

Tsunade stopped at the door. "She's..." She began without turning to look at him. She paused and seem to consider her words before continuing. "Don't worry about Sakura, Naruto. Just concentrate on getting better and out of here." she stated flatly and left.

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More than three years has passed since Sasuke left her alone and unconsious on the bench that night. She thought that within those three years, she had grown and changed in so many ways, including the feelings she had for him.

When she first saw Naruto at the gates with Sasuke, the first thing that came to mind was not what she would have expected three years ago. It wasn't relief she felt for having Sasuke back, nor was it concern for the injured state he was in, but regret. She regretted having let Naruto make that fateful promise the day Sasuke left, she regretted not being able to tell Naruto how she really felt about him, but what she regretted the most was the feelings she had for Sasuke all those years ago and still do.

"Are you ok Sakura?" Sasuke asked. The injuries that he sustained were mostly healed now, the only signs left were the bandages that covered his eyes.

Sakura realized she had stopped peeling the apple in her hand and was staring off into space. "Sorry Sasuke-kun, I was just thinking about something."

Sasuke didn't inquire on what she was thinking about as she continued to peel the apple. "I'm glad that you are here Sakura." He said softly.

He was so different, the Sasuke of the past would never have said something like that. Even now after all the years that she has known him, those were probably the kindest words he has ever said to her. For some reason she thought of Naruto.

"Have some apples Sasuke-kun, they were just picked this morning." she said as she brought a piece up to his lips. She continued to peel another apple on the plate in her lap.

"I heard one of the nurses say that Naruto has woken up." Sasuke said emotionlessly as he slowly chewed on a piece of apple.

Sakura winced as she cut her finger with the paring knife. She knew that Naruto had come out of his coma the day before. She couldn't go see Naruto, no, she wouldn't, not now. After everything Naruto has done to bring Sasuke back to her, how could she tell Naruto that it was HIS side she wanted to be by. No, she would resolve her feelings for Sasuke first, then she will go to Naruto, if he was still willing to take her.

"I'm such a clutz." She giggle embarrassedly. "I accidently cut my finger. Im going to go and get a bandaid." she said as she set the plate down and got up from her seat.

Sasuke immediately grabbed her hand, stuck the wounded finger into his mouth, and sucked away the blood. "Please, just stay here with me." he asked after he took her finger out of his mouth.

Sakura held her breath as she was caught off guard. She looked down at Sasuke as he still held her hand. Even with the bandages, he seem to be looking right at her. He may not have had his eyes anymore, but he was still a first class ninja.

"Sasuke, I'm..."

Sasuke interrupted her before she could finish. "Even if you go, don't go to HIM..."

Sakura looked at him bewildered. _Does he somehow know how I feel about Naruto?_

"He has the Kuybi's power... he has everyone's praise... he has the hokage, and he still has his sight... he... he can't have you too." Sasuke gripped her hand tighter.

She had no idea that Sasuke felt so inferior to Naruto. Ever since they were little, Naruto had been chasing Sasuke, but somewhere along the way he surpassed him. Naruto saved Sasuke from himself and brought him back to the village, it was her turn now.

Sakura sat back down and placed her other hand on top of his. "Don't worry Sasuke, I'm not going anywhere."

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Naruto put his own T-shirt back on, a white one with an orange spiral on the back. He was glad that he didn't have to keep wearing the hospital pajamas, he didn't like the way people looked at him when he had them on, like he was dying or something.

"The tests seem to have been pretty normal, but we won't know for sure until the results come out in a few days." Tsunade said while checking some things off on a clip board. "Until then I want you to take it easy. Your injuries may have healed, but your body is still recovering from being unconscious for so long."

"Don't worry Ba-chan, all I need is a few bowls of Ichiraku ramen and I'll be as good as new." Naruto smiled as he bounded off the exam chair and stumbled, nearly falling down.

"Naruto!" Tsunade called out with worry.

Naruto caught himself in a crouch and then stood up after he sturdied his legs. "Heh...heh... I guess I don't have all my strength back yet." Naruto said embarrassedly.

"I'm being serious Naruto. If something were to happen to you, I don't know what I would do." Tsunade pleaded.

Tsuande was probably the closest thing he had to a mother in his life and it made him happy to see that she cared for him so dearly. "Don't worry, nothing is going to happen to me." he assured her as he gave her a soft hug. "I'm Jiraya sensei's student after all!" he said as he pulled away and gave her a bright smile.

Tsunade returned his smile and gently knocked him on his head. "Did he teach you to be a smooth talker as well." she joked.

Naruto only giggled mischeviously.

"Anything on the Kyubi?" the Hokage asked him suddenly.

Naruto had gone in search of the Kyubi inside of him many times since he had come out of his coma, but only to find the emtpy cell every time. "It's the same every time. Just an empty cage and no seal." Naruto replied. "What do you think it means?"

Tsunade seem to contemplate for a moment before responding. "I'm not an expert on seals and the Kyubi's seal was a special one from the Uzumaki clan at that. I'll have to do some research and talk with some of Konoha's seal masters. For now lets just keep the details between you and me." she instructed him. "If the wrong people were to find out and misunderstood things, all hell could break loose."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm sure things will turn out ok." he assured her.

"Anyway, I have other rounds to do so I will have to take my leave. Take it easy and stay out of trouble. Thats an order." she commaned.

"Yes maam!" Naruto saluted jokingly as Tsunade smiled and left the room.

First thing was first, Ichiraku ramen! Then maybe he would go and see Sasuke and Sakura-chan!

His heart ached a little when he thought of the two. He was prepared for how things would turn out if he brought Sasuke back ever since he had made his promise to Sakura, but it didn't lessen the pain any. He truely did love the girl, but what he wanted the most was for her to be happy, and if that was to be with Sasuke, then so be it.

The trouble was with Sasuke though, with the recent news of him loosing his sight, Naruto wasn't sure what he was suppose to do. All he knew was that the only thing he could do was to support his friend in any way and keep him from falling into the darkness once more.

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Ino lifted the curtain signs to Ichiraku ramen only to be surprised at who she found sitting on one of the stools. The dinner rush already over, the lone patron was sitting at one end of the counter swirling their chopsticks in the bowl of ramen, lost in their thoughts. Ino took the seat at the opposite end of the counter and gave her order of a Hokage size miso ramen to the girl Ayame behind the counter. As she watched the girl work, the blonde propped one of her elbows on the counter and leaned forward as she supported her head.

"I know that visiting hours are over, but with the pull you have, I'm surprised you're still not there. Whats wrong? Did Sasuke finally get tired of you and tell you to leave?" Ino didn't know why, but for some reason she felt annoyed.

The pink haired girl at the other end of the counter seem to snap out of her thoughts and looked at Ino in surprise. "Ino! I didn't notice you there. When did you get here?"

_No comeback at all? _Ino clicked her tongue in disappointment. "Just now."

Ayame went to the back of the shop to get more ingredients. Both girls stayed silent until Ino asked another question. "Did you visit Naruto yet?" The pink haired girl remained silent. "You know he woke up yesterday don't you?" Why did she feel so irritated?

"Thats Naruto for you, doesn't let anything keep him down." sakura smiled sadly into her bowl of ramen as she continued to swirl her chopsticks in it again.

Ino quickly stood up and slammed her hand on the counter and glared at her pink haired friend. "He's been in a coma for a month and thats all you have to say!"_ God why am I getting so upset over this? _She continued with her tirade. "He's your teamate for god's sake! The least you could do is see how he is doing! But no, all you do is cling to Sasuke like some idiot fan girl! Haven't you grown up at all since the academy? Don't you feel any shame?"

Sakura set her chopsticks down and slowly stood up from the stool and gave Ino a glare of her own. "You have no idea how I feel. Don't stick your pig nose into other people's business where it doesn't belong."

The tension was thick as both girls glared at each other, neither saying another word, until a familiar blonde came rushing in between them and slammed both his hands down on the counter.

"One Hokage size miso ramen on the double!" he yelled out in a serious tone.

Ayame came out from the back with some supplies and blinked in surprise. "Oh Naruto-kun! When did you get out of the hospital?"

"Just today! I'm dying for a Hokage size miso ramen!" he replied excitedly.

The boy seem to look from his right and left only now seeming to notice the two girls that were still glaring at each other. "Sakura-chan, Ino, I didn't notice you two here." he smiled sheepishly at the two.

Sakura blushed embarrassedly at Naruto and sat back down silent once more trying to avoid eye contact.

"Naruto I'm..." Sakura began softly, as she chewed her words and studdered with what she was trying to say to Naruto.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun, Ino-san ordered the last of the miso ramen. Is there another I could make for you instead?" Ayame interrupted as she asked the boy.

"Aww man..." Naruto hung his head dejectedly.

"You can give him the one I ordered Ayame-san." she stated irritably. "I seem to have lost my appetite." she was still glaring at the girl at the other end of the counter. Ino turned to leave and paused with her arm half raised into the curtains. "Naruto, you idiot." she whispered before exiting completely.

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Naruto sat idlely as he waited for his ramen to finish. "I'm sorry Ayame-chan but can you make that to go? I just remembered that I have to be somewhere right now."

"That won't be a problem Naruto." Ayame smiled sweetly. "Its hard being the hero of the village isn't it? Always having to be somewhere."

"I suppose I'll have to get use to it, I'm sure it'll be alot worse when I become Hokage." he smirked. "Besides, there isn't even an Anbu out there that could find me if I didn't want to be found." he flexed confidently with a foxy grin on his face.

Ayame just giggle as she continued to make the order.

"Naruto...I'm sorry that I haven't come to see you sooner." Sakura muttered into her bowl of ramen.

"Don't even sweat it Sakura-chan. I'm sure you were busy with hospital stuff." he lied. He already new where she had been.

Naruto had actually arrived earlier and heard the argument from outside and decided to interrupt before someone said something they regretted later. He really didn't blame Sakura at all, it was for the best that she was with Sasuke right now, for her sake, and for Sasuke's sake as well. Surprisingly, it also felt nice that Ino was looking out for him.

"Besides, you know me. Gonna take alot more to keep me out for good." he joked confidently. "I guess the Kyubi is good for something afterall." he lied again.

"Here you go Naruto, all done." Ayame said as she handed Naruto his order over the counter.

"Thanks Ayame-chan. Next time I'll defintely stay here to eat." He smiled at her as he stood up to leave and left a wad of bills on the counter to pay for the food.

"Oh and Sakura-chan." He said as he stopped before leaving "Can you do me a favor and keep an eye on Sasuke-teme for me? Ba-chan's got me running around so much for her that I don't think I'll have time to see him much." lying was becoming a habbit.

"Naurto, Sasuke right now...he's..." the girl studdered.

The blonde interrupted her before she could finish saying anything. "Tell Sasuke-teme that even with a handicap, I won't go easy on him the next time we spar." Naruto smirked as he exited the ramen shop.

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Ino sat on the swing dejectedly as she berated herself for being such an idiot. Why had she gotten so angry with Sakura? Was she mad because Sakura didn't visit Naruto after he had awoken from his coma? Sure that was inconsiderate of her, but it wasn't something for her to get upset over.

Sadly, as angry as she was at Sakura, a small part of her deep down inside was a little happy. _Maybe the idiot will look at me instead of her now. _Where had that thought come from? Recently all her thoughts have been focused about Naruto. The boy made her confused about her emotions. She got angry over things she normally wouldn't be angry over, she found herself happy or amused over little things about the boy that she would have never even noticed three years ago.

Suddenly she realized something, like someone had come and finally turned the lights on in her brain. _When did it happen? How?_ Somehow without her knowing, she had grown feelings for the spikey haired blonde.

Looking around she remembered back during their academy days, their graduation to be more specific. She briefly remembered seeing Naruto sitting in this exact swing after the graduation, all alone. She remembered thinking at the time that he was alone because he had failed the academy exam. God was she an idiot. No, he was alone because everyone ignored him, all the parents, the other students, even herself. She regretted it now.

Despite being alone, Naruto slowly worked his way into everyone's hearts, like how he worked his way into hers as well. Pretty deep as a matter of fact, so much that she didn't think there was any way of him leaving there. _Oh god, I hope Naruto didn't hear me back at Ichiraku's!_

"Of all the places to run off and sulk, I didn't think you would come here." said a voice from above her.

She looked up and saw Naruto sitting above her in the branch of the tree staring down at her with a smile. She could drown in that smile of his.

Ino blushed as she crossed her arms and looked away. "What do you want." she asked in an irritated tone. _I'm such an idiot! _

Naruto jumped from the branch and landed in front of her. "You left this at Ichiraku's" he replied holding up a togo order of ramen.

"Didn't you hear me? I said that I lost my appetite." her stomach growled so loud that some of the birds in the near by trees flew off startled.

"I don't think that your stomach agrees with you." the boy chuckled.

Ino's face became a shade of red that wasn't even in the color scale. She felt so embarrassed.

"Here." he said as he handed her the ramen and leaned against the tree. "Thanks for visiting me at the hospital while I was in a coma. For whatever its worth I appreciate it."

"I wasn't the only one that visited you. I just happened to be there when you woke up." she blushed as she stared down at the bowl of ramen in her hands. It felt so warm.

"Yeah, but I still want to thank you." he looked away and scratched the back of his head. "You stood up for me to Sakura even though you didn't have to. She may have been a bit inconsiderate to not visit, but don't blame her. It's been over three years, her and Sasuke have alot of catching up to do." he said softly.

_Still being the hero like always... _"Geez, talking to an idiot sure makes me really hungry." she said sarcastically as she parted the chopsticks and began to eat the ramen.

"Hey! Who are you calling an idiot!" Naruto complained. Naruto's stomach growled and another set of birds flew off from the near by trees. "Heh...heh...you wouldn't mind sharing any of that would you?" he asked sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know idiots got hungry." Ino joked as she stuck out her tongue at him.

"Awwww come on Ino-chan, I havent had any real food in over a month!" Naruto whined.

_Ino-chan._ Ino blushed, she liked the sound of that.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Shonen Jump magazine as well as other license holders of the Naruto series.

No Regrets

Chapter two : Rest and Relaxation

"Ino darling, will you come down here for a moment?"

The girl in question slowly crawled out of bed in an uncouth manner, stubbing her toes on every little obsticle between her and the door to her room. It wasn't that early, near afternoon as a matter of fact, but she had not been able to fall asleep the night before because her thoughts were filled with a wiskered face blonde that had a smile you could drown in. Luckily today was a day off.

Ino made her way down the stairs as she stretched and stifled a yawn. Her mother was in the kitchen looking over some papers as she sat at the table drinking her afternoon tea.

"Come Ino, I have something to discuss with you. Your fathers watching the shop for me so I don't have much time." her mother stated.

With another stifled yawn, Ino grabbed a bottle of water from the refigerator and sat down at the table across from her mother. The blonde popped open her water and took a chug as she peaked at the documents her mother seemed to be scanning over from the corner of her eyes. _Applications?_

"Are we hiring someone for the shop? I know that I'm a bit busy with work, but you know I'm always willing to help out if I can." Ino didn't like the idea that her mother was going to spend money on hired help for the flower shop. Although her father and her were pretty well known among the shinobi community, their family was small, unlike some of the larger clans of the village, thus they did not have the wealth like them.

"Of coarse not dear. With the money we spent on having the shop rebuilt there is no way that we could afford to hire someone right now. These are applications for arranged meetings honey." she said, in the same tone that she would use if she were picking out shoes.

"Huh?" Ino replied intelligently. She could see where this was going, it wasn't the first time this subject had come up.

"Dear gods Ino, your hair!" her mother exclaimed, looking at her for the first time since she came down from upstairs. "Its unlady like to be in such disheveled manner, even after waking up!"

Ino just rolled her eyes. _Pretentious old hag._

"You're almost eighteen Ino, the only boys I ever see you around are Shikamaru and Chouji, and they are practically family. As a matter of fact, the last time you even mentioned a boy of interest, it was that Sasuke boy from the Uchiha clan." her mother said while still scanning through the profiles of different eligible bachelors once more. "I let you join the academy because of your father and you know I was against you continuing after you had graduated. I think its about time you thought about what your priorities should be in life."

"There is no way that I'm going to get married right now mother!" Ino spat defiantly. Her mother's idea of priorities were either take over the flower shop or get married and become a house wife...while taking over the flower shop.

"Oh hush, I'm not asking you to go off and get hitched today. All I'm saying is that at your age you should at least be dating someone, perferably someone of some stature." her mother hummed.

Ino sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her mother was from a small merchant family that had originally started the flowershop they owned and her father's side was fairly small as well, she could understand why her mother was concered for her daughter's future, but this was a bit ridiculous.

"Hmmm... the Inazuka clan? The yongest son Kiba, is he the one always running around with his dog?" the woman asked while looking at a file. She continued without even letting Ino answer. "The boy is probably infested with fleas and that boy Shino from the Aburame clan, I'm not even going to bother with that one."

"They are respectable ninja mother, please don't talk about them with the tone you would use when scraping dog crap from the bottom of your shoes." Ino loved her mother very much, but the woman could be so abrasive sometimes.

"I know they are from respectable clans daughter and I also know your taste in men, I'm just looking out for your best interest." her mother smiled sweetly. "I'll just go ahead and toss out Shikamaru and Chouji since you probably think of them as brothers, that doesn't leave much from your graduating class dear and most of the other respectable shinobi are taken." her mother sighed. "I suppose you'll have to choose from the civilian prospects dear."

Her mother sounded like she was choosing meat at a market. Ino felt like bashing her head against the kitchen table. "And whats wrong with Naruto." Ino half heartedly said under her breath as she looked away irritated.

The older woman broke out into a fit of laughter, well as close to laughter as she could get, but without actually opening her mouth. _Did she just snort?_

"I'm so sorry honey." the older woman apologized as she wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes. "I thought you just said Naruto, as in Uzumaki Naruto."

Ino felt confused. What was wrong with that? Did her mother have something against Naruto? Maybe because of the Kyubi?

"I guess from the look of your face you did say it. Lets be realistic daughter. The boy is the hero of Konoha, he's a celebrity, not to mention the Hokage practically thinks of him as a son. I'd say he's a bit out of your league dear. I also hear rumors from other villagers that he might be a secret son of the Forth Hokage! Can you imagine if that were true? The inheritance alone would make him richer than most of the larger clans in the village!"

Ino felt a vein pop from the side of her forehead.

"All joking aside Ino, I want you to look through some of these and at least try to think about your future." her mother said as she handed her a stack of profiles.

"I'm going to go take a shower." Ino said irritably, quickly getting up from the table and going back up stairs, WITHOUT the documents her mother had given her.

xxxxxxxxxx

Naruto sat in front of the Hokage's desk while twirling a kunai around out of pure boredom. He sported a black T-shirt and an orange vest that had the ever so present red spiral on the back, along with a matching pair of orange shorts. His hair hung over his eyes since he still haven't found his hitaiate, he must have lost it during the battle with Madara. He would have to ask Ba-chan to get him another one before he went back to active duty.

Speaking of the old hag, where was she? He had been waiting for her for over an hour already. She had summoned him earlier in the morning to go over some stuff and he came because the message said that it was important.

The double doors to the office opened and Tsuande entered while holding on to a small wooden box covered in seals, followed by shizune who was carring TonTon in her arms.

"Good, you're here." the woman stated.

"I've been here for over an hour!" Naruto whined.

"I'm sorry Naruto, getting this took longer than expected." the woman said as she took her seat at the desk and placed the box on top between her and Naruto.

The boy looked at the box cursiously.

"Its something that was left for you by your parents Naruto-kun." Shizune answered as took her usual place next to the Hokage and gave him a delighted smile.

"Even though this was suppose to be given to you on your eighteenth birthday, It's no secret to you anymore who your parents are, so I managed to convince the old crones from the council to let me give it to you a little early." the busty woman told him. "Although you still have to wait until your birthday to receive your full inheritance."

"This is from my parents?" Naruto inquired. "Whats in it?"

"We aren't really sure, but your father took alot of effort to place seals on it so that you were the only one that could open it. My guess would be scrolls of secret justus left by him as well as trinkets and such he had collected before he became Hokage."

The boy smiled excitedly at the prospect of secret jutsus left by his father, the Fourth Hokage himself.

"Unfortunetly, other than that box, all of your parent's assets were liquidated over time since you were born, but the Third Hokage funneled all of the profits into a savings account under your mother's name which has been paying for your living expenses thus far. You will have full access to the account once you turn eighteen."

Naruto smiled softly as he thought of his parents. Although he had no idea who they were while growing up and had only found out recently, he was learning little by little just what type of people they really were. He took the small box and stared at the intricate seals that surrounded the box. He was no seal master, but they sure looked complicated.

"So, how have you been feeling." the Hokage asked him.

He broke his attention from the box and gave the woman a healthy smile. "I'm feeling great! I think that I can go back to training soon!"

"Don't be so hasty Naruto. At least let me get the test results back before you do anything rash. Besides, there haven't been many missions since the shinobi alliance and I suspect that the down time won't last long since the war is finally over, so you should enjoy yourself while you can." she instructed.

The Hokage wrote some directions onto a scrap of paper and handed it to him. "Shizune and I will be there sometime this evening as well as some other shinobi I have invited, you should ask some of your friends and meet us there."

"The new barbecue place?" he asked looking at the scrap of paper.

"Yeah, apparently its a well known chain throughout the land of fire." Shizune added.

Personally, he would rather eat at Ichiraku ramen over barbecue any day, but he wasn't so picky that he would refuse free food. "Ok, I'll see if anyone is free tonight." He replied as he got up. "Do you think Sasuke will be there?" He asked hopefully.

"Sasuke won't be released from the hospital until a few more days so he won't be able to make it." the woman stated flatly.

Naruto was hoping that he would get a chance to talk with Sasuke about what his plans were for the future and ask him if there was anything that he could do to help. Perhaps he should go and visit him at the hospital.

"Sakura is going to be there." the Hokage added in a suspisious tone.

"Sounds good." he replied, although without the usual hyper activness he has when it came to the pink haired kunoichi. "I guess I'll see you all there then."

The blonde woman stared at him with a thoughtful expression that kind of made him nervous, like she was plotting something.

Naruto nervously said his goodbyes and quickly left the Hokage's office with the wooden box.

xxxxxxxxxx

If brooding was a form of taijutsu, Sasuke would easily be a grandmaster at it. Sakura had already came and left saying that the Hokage had her running errands today so she couldn't stay long and to top it off she would be with the Hokage in the evening as well. Funnily enough, even though he had treated her so coldly when they were younger, it was him that wanted her around and to not leave his side.

Sasuke sat in the hospital bed facing the window where he felt sunlight shinging through. He heard the chirping of the birds outside as well as felt a soft breeze flowing in through that window. It was near the end of September, but the Autumn wind had yet to get too cold to where it was uncomfortable. It was ironic, now that he had lost his eyes, it felt like he could truely see what was important to him.

He smelled a faint scent of odango coming from the other side of the room.

"If you keep brooding like that, your face will get stuck that way and then no girl will want to marry you." Naruto joked.

Sasuke had to admit, he no longer wanted to kill the blonde, but his former teamate sure had a way of pissing him off.

"Shouldn't you be out signing autographs or something." he retorted with his own snide remark. He could hear Naruto walk over to him near the bed and take a seat in the chair that Sakura used.

"Is that something you should say to the person who was so kind enough to sneak in some food for you?"

"Hn..." was his only reply.

"So, do you plan on asking Ba-chan to reinstate you once you are out of here?" Naruto asked him.

"Are you that much of an idiot? Can't you see that I'm blind? Besides why whould she take back a traitor." he said bitterly.

Suddenly the blonde threw a quick jab at his face which he easily caught the oncoming fist. "Pretty good for a blind man if you ask me."

"Well nobody asked you." he really hated how Naruto always tried to help everyone.

"Come on Sasuke, you and I both know that even without your sight, you're better than half of the Jonin in Konoha." Naruto stated. "And I'm sure I can get Ba-chan to get you reinstated."

"Don't you ever get tired of being so optimistic?" he asked retorhically.

"Of course not, you know first hand I don't ever give up!"

Sasuke could see the shit eating grin on the boy's face even without his eyes.

"Anyway, I just came by to say hi and give you this." Naruto said as he handed him the plastic bag. "I got you some odango, I know that its not exactly like the food at the new barbecue place that opened but it was the best I could do. I guess a bunch of us are going there for the grand opening tonight and I didn't want you to feel left out."

_Ever the thoughtful one_.

"Seriously though, think it over, getting reinstated again."

_Persistant too_. "Yeah, yeah." he replied as he slowly started to open the bag.

"I got to get going but I'll talk to Ba-chan about it tonight at the restaurant." Naruto assured him on his way out.

Sasuke stopped opening the bag as he heard Naruto. _The Hokage? That means Sakura will be there! _His grip on the plastic became tighter as he thought about it. It wasn't that he hated Naruto, but he knew of the blonde's feelings for Sakura and he felt a sense of fear that he was going to loose her to him. He knew that it was petty, but she was all that he had left that Naruto didn't have.

"Oh, almost forgot I also got you some cake. Its in the bag as well." Naruto said as he stuck his head back in the room. "Anyway, I'll talk to you later." and he was gone, for good this time.

Sasuke slowly crumpled the bag and tossed it into the trash can next to his bed. He hated sweet foods.

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Ino couldn't believe she let her mother talk her into this. The man sitting across from her Fujiwara Saito was in his early twenties, the son of a wealthy family in the import and export business that had just moved into the village. He wasn't ugly in any way, short wavy brown hair, brown eyes, and a suit that was probably worth more than her entire month's salary. She would say he was rather handsome if anyone had asked her, howerver, the man's personality left much to be desired.

"...so then I said, put it on my tab!" the man barked in laughter at his own story. "The look on the poor fool's face was priceless!"

Ino had no idea what the punchline was or why it was so funny because she hadn't been listening to the man for the past thirty minutes. She just feigned interest, doing her best not to be rude.

"Ah, I kill myself sometimes." Saito complimented himself as his laughter subsided.

_If you don't, I might!_ She just wanted to quickly get the dinner over with so that she could go home and forget that this night ever took place. "Don't you think that we should give our order soon Saito-san?" she inquired, trying to move things along.

"Ah, but of course!" the man replied as he snapped his fingers. "Waitress?" he called out.

A young and rather cute looking girl with short dark hair came to their table to take their order. "Yes sir, what can I get for you this evening?"

"I will take the most expensive thing on your menu and maybe a side of you." he replied with a greasy looking smile. "I jest, nothing on your menu is that expensive." he laughed at his own joke. "I jest again, just bring us what ever is most popular here."

The waitress rolled her eyes as she took the order and then disappeared around the corner into the kitchen. Saito seem to eye her behind the entire length it took her to get from the table and around the wall. Ino felt like vomiting.

"So, your profile says that you are a shinobi of Konoha? Isn't that line of work a bit vulgar?" he asked, returning his attention back to the blonde. "I mean, being a kunochi of your beauty, you must have taken some missions that might be considered to be quite risque, if you catch my drift."

Ino wanted to stab the man in the face with her spoon. "It can be quite dangerous at times, yes." she replied with restraint.

"I'm looking forward to you showing me the way of the kunoichi after dinner." the man said rather suggestively as he licked his lips.

_Thats it! To hell with being polite!_ Ino stood up angrily, ready to strangle the man to death.

"Yamanaka Ino?" a voice called out. "It is! Well I'll be damned, its a surprise seeing you here."

_Naruto?_

"And you are?" Saito inquried rudely.

As if noticing the other man for the first time Naruto apologized sheepishly. "Oh, Im so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, a shinobi here in Konoha. Ino and I work together sometimes." the boy explained.

Saito didn't look convinced.

"I mean we do missions together sometimes, but Ino here works mainly with the interrogation unit." he elaborated.

"Interrogation unit?"

"Yeah, she spends all her time there torturing people and stuff. Its why im so surprised to see her here, she hardly ever leaves the place." the spikey haired blonde said with a smile.

Saito seem to turn pale.

"I think she secretly enjoys it if you ask me. Rumor has it, she's castrated more shinobi than there are trees in Konoha. Some say she does it as recreation." he continued as if talking about the weather.

The man sweated nervously while seeming to cover up his crotch area with his hands. "Oh my! I've completely forgot that I had an important business meeting with someone right now. I apologize Yamanaka-san, we'll have to continue this some other time." he said as he quickly got up from the table, nervously eyeing the butter knife that Ino had unconciously grabbed when she stood up. "No need to contact me, I'll contact you." he said hastily as he excused himself and switly left the restaurant.

Ino just stood there with a dumbfounded expression.

"Well that didn't take much." Naruto commented as he took the other man's now empty seat. "But, I suppose his type is usually more bark than bite."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ino asked confused.

"Apparently saving you from a bad date." he retorted with a smile.

Ino blushed angrily and sat down in a huff. "I didn't need your help. I know how to take care of my self."

"Oh? So you were going to show that man the way of the Kunoichi then?" he teased.

Ino scruched up her napkin and thew it a the blonde as he chuckled at her expense. She crossed her arms in annoyance and looked away, still blushing angrily.

"You look great by the way." Naruto commented. "Having your hair up suits you, I can see your face better now, compared to when you usually have it down covering half of it."

Ino blushed even more, but this time for a different reason.

"Why are you really here?" she tried her best to hide her embarrassment.

"Ba-chan told me to gather some friends and come here, Shikamaru and Chouji are here as well." he explained. "She'll be coming later with some other people, we just got here a little early is all. I guess she wanted to have a little get together or something. You should join us." he invited.

"I don't know if I should..." she replied hesitantly. She felt a little overdressed for just a get together, in her navy blue evening gown. Her mother had insisted that she dressed proper for her meeting. Not to mention she was sure that Sakura would be there.

"Come on, it'll be fun." he coaxed her with a smile as he took her hand and led her to the private dining area that the Hokage had reserved for them.

In the banquet room sat Shikamaru and Chouji, the latter already stuffing his face with some of the food laid out on the table.

"That didn't take long." Shikamaru commented lazily. "Naruto had pointed out that you were here with some slimey looking guy, I figured your mother had put you up to it again."

Ino glared at her pineapple haired teamate, he was way too perceptive for his own good.

"I told him it was too troublesome to get involved, but he insisted on helping anyways." he said with an irritated sigh.

She glanced at Naruto who had a guilty looking smile on his face. _He looks cute even with that kind of smile._

"Anyway, I guess you'll be joining us now. Parties are so troublesome."

"Oh? Would you rather I sent you on a mission instead?" Tsunade said as she entered the room with the rest of the rookie nine, minus Sasuke, team ten, and Gai-sensei. "Perhaps one to Suna? I hear you're pretty familiar with the route."

Ino giggled at the busty woman's comment knowingly.

"How troublesome..." was Shikamaru's only reply.

"If its a mission, you can send me Ba-chan!" Naruto chimed in oblivious of the joke at Shikamaru's expense.

Everyone facepalmed at Naruto's denseness. "What?" he asked in confusion as he looked around at everyone.

xxxxxxxxxx

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves at the dinner, you could hardly tell that a war had just ended. At some point after Kakashi showed up fashionably late and Gai dragging Lee off after some alcohol mistakenly slipped into his drink, the group split up in two. The guys in one and girls in the other.

The Hokage had insisted that all of the girls have some alcohol along with her, stating that it would be rude of them not to, as an excuse to get them to drink. Ino had to admit that she was getting a little tipsy from the sweet sake she was nursing.

"So the word is that our little Hinata confessed to Naruto during Pein's attack." Tsunade started.

Hinata spit out the juice she was drinking and coughed violently as she choked. Her face was beat red from embarrassement, the girl was so easy read.

Ino felt a tinge of jealousy for some reason as she downed the sake in her dish.

"That a girl Ino! Show these light weights how its done." the Hokage encouraged as she poured some more sake for her.

Tsunade went back to interrogating the poor Hyuga girl. "Well? have you gotten any responses from Naurto?" she inquired further.

Hinata looked down at her glass with a hint of sadness in her face. "Naruto came to me not to long ago..." she started.

Ino's ears perked up as she paid close attention to Hinata's words while she drank her sake acting uninterested.

"He thanked me for sharing my feelings with him..." Hinata said as she took a big gulp of her juice before continuing. "However, he said he truely saw me as a great friend, but there was someone else in his heart already and he couldn't return my feelings for him." Surprisingly the girl didn't cry.

Ino, looked over in Sakura's direction, she saw that Sakura was feigning disinterest as well. _Two faced bitch. _She took another shot of sake. _Who am I kidding, Im not any different._

"Oh? did Naruto say who his heart belonged to?" the busty woman asked as she drank the sake in her dish and poured herself another.

Hinata gave knowing glances in the pink haired girls direction a couple times before answering. "He did not, Hokage-sama, but I have a good guess as to who it is..." the girl said quitely in dismay. She took another swig of her juice like it was some kind of liquid courage before continuing. "However! I want that person to know that I haven't given up!" she finished in a much braver tone.

"Well good for you Hinata, thats the spirit! It takes alot of courage to confess to someone they love, especially in front of others. I wouldn't want anything less from my subordinates." Tsunade encouraged.

Ino couldn't help but think how cunning the woman was as she drank yet another shot of sake, she was getting to feel alot more than tipsy now. She built up her courage with one more shot and was about to stand up and say something until someone beat her to the punch.

"Naruto!" her childhood friend shouted as she stood up from the table. Everyone looked at the pink haired girl, including the guys from the other side of the room. "Naruto...I..." she stuttered.

_You bitch! You better not be saying what I think you are. _Ino couldn't help but feel a little bitterness at Sakura for standing up before her.

"Tomorrow!" she said with more resolve. "Meet me at the top of the Hokage monument tomorrow night before sunset. There is something I want to talk to you about. Its very important!" the girl pleaded.

Ino looked away from where Naruto sat, she didn't want to see what kind of expression the boy had on his face. _Please say no! Or say that you're busy or something! _

"Um, ok Sakura-chan I'll be there!"

Even though she didn't want to, Ino quickly turned to Naruto's direction with a sad expression already knowing what she would see. She could feel tears well up at the corner of her eyes.

Naruto had a blushing smile. The kind of smile that she wished he would give to her.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Shonen Jump magazine as well as other license holders of the Naruto series. This chapter was fueled by Snickers and CocaCola.

No Regrets

Chapter three : Confessions

"Meet me tomorrow night before sunset!"

Sakura felt like an idiot. Tomorrow night before sunset? That didn't even make sense! The only reason she had stood up to say anything at all was because of her master's comment towards Hinata. Why had she called out Naruto's name? She new that it wouldn't be fair to the boy if she confessed to him without first resolving her feelings for Sasuke, but she felt that with the sudden new interest of Naruto from the female population in Konoha, she wouldn't get another chance if she didn't. She was such a terrible person.

"Um, ok sakura I'll be there!"

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard Naruto's answer. She wasn't able to out right confess to the boy in front of everyone, but she was able to at least ask him to meet with her alone tomorrow evening. She sat back down as an uncertain anxiety filled her chest. _Its just the Sake._

All the other women were staring at her with a wide range of expressions with the exception of Ino, who wasn't looking at her at all.

"Ok Sakura, spill it." TenTen said with a curious smile. "What was that all about."

The attention she was receiving made her blush. There was no way that she was going to tell the truth about her feelings for Naruto, not without having told him first at least. "Oh, it was nothing. I just need to talk with Naruto about reforming team seven is all." she replied trying to cover up. The excuse was poor at best, but it was the only one that she had. She only hoped no one would try to pry any further.

"Oh? I wasn't aware that Sasuke wanted to be reinstated." Tsunade said with a raised brow.

"He hasn't said anything about it officially, but deep down I'm sure he wants to." she laughed nervously.

"Aaaaaaah, ah." someone sighed drunkedly. "Someone's feeding me a whole lot of bullshit and I'm all out of sake to wash it down with. Hey billboard brow, would you mind handing me the bottle next to you?" Ino asked looking towards the pink haired girl, while shaking an emtpy bottle of sake at her tauntingly.

Sakura irked with irritation, that was the second time since yesterday that Ino had tried to provoke her in some way, both times involving Naruto and Sasuke. Was she angry with her about something?

"I think you've had more than enough." came from the Hokage surprisingly.

Ino pouted as she turned away from Sakura once more.

Tsunade tapped one of the dishes with her chopsticks to get everyones attention as she stood up to say something. "Naruto, we're all glad that you are conscious again and out of the hospital." she toasted. "And hopefully you'll stay out for a while this time." everyone cheered. "With that said, I think we should call it a night. I'm going to go pay the tab, those of you that are sober, help the ones that are not make it home."

Everyone seem to look at each other to see who needed help getting home, but it was more than obvious that only one person had more than their share of sake. Shikamaru and Choji volunteered to take Ino home since they all lived near each other.

Sakura thought about faking intoxication herself in hopes to try and get Naruto to take her home, but lost her nerves and dismissed the idea as the boy said his goodbyes to everyone.

"So i guess ill see you tomorrow then?" Naruto inquired as he finally got to her to say goodbye.

"Yeah..." she replied hesitantly. Suddenly she was getting second thoughts about the meeting, now that she was looking at the boy in the face. Ever since she was a child, Sasuke had been her goal in love, always the one that she nor anyone else for that matter couldn't achieve. When team seven formed, she slowly came to realize that Naruto was willing to give everything that she wanted from Sasuke and whether it was conscious or not on her part, he had become a saftey net for her, always at arms length. Is that how she felt about Naruto? Was he the back up plan for when she didn't get Sasuke? _No, even with Sasuke back now, I love Naruto! I think..._

"Well see ya later Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he turned to leave.

"Naruto wait!" Sakura called out unconciously. She had that anxious feeling again in her chest. Like if she didn't say anything now, she wouldn't get the chance tomorrow.

"Yeah Sakura-chan?" Naruto turn expectantly.

Sakura paused for a moment not sure what she wanted to say. "...Be safe getting home." she finished lamely.

"Sure thing." he replied with a little less oomph and continued on his way.

She watched him disappear down the road. _It's ok, there is still tomorrow. I'll definately tell him tomorrow. Tomorrow... _

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Shikamaru, a ninja of Konoha, most known for his kagemane no jutsu, and his brilliant strategic mind with an IQ of over two hundered. Many ninja have come to him for assistance when faced with a tough problem, including the Fifth Hokage on a few occasions, but the predicament of the girl he was carrying on his back seemed unreasonably too troublesome for him to get involved with this time.

"So let me get this strait, You are in love with Naruto, who you have yet to confess to, which in turn is in love with Sakura, who you have suspicions that is also in love with Naruto, but has feelings for Sasuke as well? And you think that Sakura is going to confess to Naruto tomorrow?" he summed up from the girl's drunken rant. _How troublesome._

"You're sho shmart Shikaaa-chan." Ino slurred drunkedly with a smile, as she poked her index finger into Shikamaru's cheek.

Shikamaru gave an annoyed look. "You shouldn't do anything if you ask me."

Ino bonked him on the head with a fist. "Howwz zat shupposh to heelp mee!" she spat.

"Well, you confessing to Naruto doesn't change the fact that he has feelings for Sakura, and if she does confess to him tomorrow, you would just be the third wheel." Shikamaru stated. "It's better that you say nothing, at least until you know for sure how Sakura feels." Shikamaru felt a bit ashamed. The advice he gave only reflected his own lack of action and insecurities with Temari.

"Thats not necessarily the best option either." said the chubby boy next to them. Choji was walking beside them while holding onto a large togo container of left over barbecue from the restaurant, still eating as they walked. "Ever since I was little, my favorite food has been fried chicken and no one could tell me differently. There was no way I would ever like anything better than it, until the day my dad took me to try barbecue pork. The heavenly taste of fresh barbecue right off the grill, there is nothing more delicious in the world. Had my father never taken me to try it for the first time, fried chicken might still be my favorite. Who knows Ino, Sakura may be Naruto's fried chicken, but you could be his barbecue pork."

Shikamaru sweatdropped at Choji's analogy. As terrible of one as it was, in a weird way, it somehow made a little sense.

"You're shooo shweeeet Chozi." Ino smiled as she akwardly reached over and pet Choji on the head.

"We're here Ino." Shikamaru said as they arrived at her house and knocked on the door. "Even though I think its troublesome, you should do what your heart tells you to do. That's probably your best option" he advised her, even though the girl would porbably forget the entire converstion by morning.

The door opened to the figure of Yamanaka Inoichi.

"Hieee daddy!" Ino waved. "I'm hoooome."

"She's had a bit to drink, Yamanaka-san. The Hokage insisted so go easy on her." Shikamaru explained.

The man sighed and picked the girl up into his arms. "Thanks for looking after her, Shikamaru and Choji." he thanked as he turned to go back inside. "I'll see you boys the day after tomorrow." he said as he closed the door.

Choji seem to realize something and shouted with excitment. "I almost forgot, its your birthday the day after tomorrow and Ino's the day after that! That means more food! YES!"

Shikamaru just shook his head at his best friend. They had just gotten done with a feast and the boy was getting excited for another one. "Don't you ever stop thinking about food?"

Choji seem to actually contemplate for an answer. "Mmmmm...yeah when I sleep." he stated. "Just kidding! I dream about it when i sleep too!" he chuckled sheepishly.

Shikamaru couldn't help but laugh along with his friend.

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The overcast in the sky didn't bode well for the day's weather. From her experience, a sky like that in Konoha, almost always equated to rain. However, the weather was the last thing on Ino's mind, the splitting headache from the hangover she had made sure of that.

The blonde straitened her hair, which was back down in its normal fasion, and smoothed out her smock as she entered the building. With the lack of missions recently, Ino spent most of her time either at the interrogation unit or assisting at the hospital, today she was at the latter. Although she may not be as skilled as Sakura, she was still one of the better medic-nins in Konoha, and her services were always appreciated when she was there.

"Ah, Ino-san, I'm really glad you're here. Uchiha-san's release has been expedited for later today, but his form has yet to be filled. Would it be possible if you could take it to him and help him fill it out? I would do it myself, but I still have my rounds to do and he certainly couldn't do it himself, you know, with his condition and all." asked one of the nurses.

"Where is Sakura?" Ino inquired.

"Haruno-san isn't scheduled today." replied the nurse. "She hasn't come in for her usual visit either..." she added hesitantly.

She whispered Shikamaru's trademark quote "How troublesome." under her breath as she grabbed the clipboard and made her way to Sasuke's room.

When she arrived, the raven haired boy was stoically facing the window while sitting on the bed and with an arm propped up on one knee. She felt a little disgusted at how she once use to fall prey to similar scenes, along with many of Sasuke's fangirl followers. _Does he practice poses like that when he's alone?_

"So it seems your release has been bumped up for later today. Well aren't you lucky." she said a bit too sarcastically.

"Where is Sakura?" he inquired without expression.

"I don't know and frankly I don't give two shits where forehead is. I'm just here to help you fill out your release form." she said bitterly as she scribbled on the clipboard she held. Ino's headache continued to pound at her from the back of her mind and everything annoyed her at the moment.

Sasuke turned to her with that eyeless stare of his and even though Naruto assured everyone that Sasuke was no longer out to detroy Konoha, he still made her a little uncomfortable. "I'm sorry Ino for how everything has turned out, but please do not talk about Sakura in an ill manner because she is with me."

Ino snapped the pen in her hand as she grinded her teeth. Was the bastard actually conceited enough to think that she was jealous of Sakura? Over him? She had half a mind to say where Sakura was going to be this evening and with whom, but she didn't. The blonde just clicked her tongue in annoyance and took out another pen from the pocket of her smock.

"I've completed all of the generic information for you, I just need to fill out if you're experiencing any side effects from the surgery or having any difficulties from your rehabilitation." Ino stated.

Sasuke just turned back to the window without a word.

"I'll take that as a no." she marked accordingly on his form.

"Ino? What are you doing here?" said the girl that walked into the room.

Ino turned and was a bit surprised to see Sakura standing at the doorway. "Well if it isn't billboard brow herself." she quipped. "Good, now that you're here, you can finish this." the blonde instructed as she passed the clipboard off to other girl and made her exit.

"Wait! Ino, I have something to ask you." the pink haired girl pleaded.

"Sasuke is being released today. You should hurry and get all the necessary forms filled and filed so it doesn't take all day." Ino instructed, not letting Sakura ask her question. "You have somewhere to be later." she saddly added under her breath as she left.

Sakura never came looking for her as her day went on. Most of her tasks were trivial so it went by slowly for her. Sometime after noon, Ino sat in the staff breakroom staring at the ceiling instead of eating lunch. Her headache had subsided but her stomach was still not ready to eat anything heavy, so she just drank a bottle of water during her break. Her thoughts kept drifting off to about Naruto and Sakura. Was she really ok with not doing anything about her feelings for the boy and let Sakura take him? No, reguardless of what happens with Naruto and Sakura, Ino knew that she would regret not telling him how she felt for him.

"With the way you're staring at that ceiling, I could swear there is a picture of Naruto up there somewhere." came from a feminine voice.

Ino nearly slipped and fell from the chair she was leaning back on as she heard the Hokage. "I'm sorry Tsunade-sama, I didn't hear you come in." she apologized as she tried to hide her startled expression.

"Its quite alright, no need to apologize." the woman said as she took a seat next to Ino. "So you were thinking about him I take it."

"I'm not sure what you mean." She replied nervously.

"I may be old, but I am a woman too Ino. I've seen the way you look at Naruto, its not hard to see how you feel about him." she stated.

"Is it that obvious?" Ino asked.

"About as obvious as Naruto's outfit in lineup of Konoha's shinobi." Tsunade joked.

"I wish that it was obvious for Naruto." Ino sighed disheartened. As sharp of a fighter Naruto had become, he was still oblivious to alot of things when it came to the opposite gender.

Tsunade took a sip of the tea she had been holding onto. "Naruto aside, I'm surprised you have yet to voice your opinion. Of all my subordinates, I'd say you are the most open with your feelings."

"Thats just it, when it comes to him I loose track of myself and become insecure. I do things I normally wouldn't and don't do things I normally would." she sighed again.

The older woman seem to contemplate Ino's words. "I suppose that only confirms just how deeply you have let Naruto into your heart. It's ok to be insecure Ino, everyone feels that way at times, even myself. The important thing is that you follow what your heart tells you to do. Just look at Naruto, every decision he makes comes from his heart and I don't think he has ever strayed from it, whether its in battle, in friendship, or in love"

"I think thats what I love most about him." Ino smiled.

"That goes for the both of us." Tsunade agreed.

"But Naruto is going to meet Sakura tonight and I'm sure that she is going to confess to him." she said dejectedly.

"Just like you, Sakura needs to follow her heart as well, but I think shes more conflicted about her feelings more than anything and tonight I think she will have to make a choice." the woman said as she took another sip of her tea.

Ino looked at her leader in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Who do you think approved Sasuke's early release?" Tsunade said as more of a statment than a question. "Of course I wouldn't have released him if I didn't think he was healthy enough to leave here, but Sakura's request to Naruto last night did influence my decision slightly."

Ino stared at the woman in shock, the Hokage was more cunning than Ino gave her credit for.

"Sakura's going to have to grow up, emotionally that is. As much as I respect her as my apprentice, I will not let her be so indecisive about Naruto and Sasuke, it isn't fair for the either of them." she stated flatly.

The girl sat there silently with the Hokage for a few minutes before standing up. "I should get back to work." she stated.

"Just remember Ino, reguardless of what happens or what anyone says, just follow what your heart tells you." the woman reiterated.

Ino didn't reply, she just bowed politely and left to go back to her duties.

xxxxxxxxxx

Getting all the paper work filled, filed, and authorized for Sasuke's release took longer than she had expected. Sakura looked at the clock on the wall. _Good, still plenty of time left to get to the monument._ "Ok Sasuke-kun, you're all set."

Sasuke stood up from the chair he sat in as he grabbed his bag, no longer in the hospital pajamas, but in a gray hakama and navy blue top that had the Uchiha crest on the back. "Sakura, would you mind helping me get back home?"

Sakura hesitated. With his skill level, Sasuke was more than capable of getting around on his own and there will be two Anbu surveillancing him at all times, at least. She glanced at the clock once more. _There should be enough time._

"Uh, sure Sasuke-kun."

Sakura walked over and took Sasuke's hand as she led him out of the hospital, but slowly it became less apparent as to who was leading whom.

It started to rain when they got about half way to Sasuke's home and by the time they reached it, the both of them were soaked thoroughly. Dusk was approaching and the heavy rain clouds only amplified the darkness of the room the two stood in.

"I'm sure the power to your place will come back soon, most likely tomorrow because of the rain." Sakura assured the boy, not knowing what else to say. Everything in the house had been left the way it was ever since Sasuke left the village and care takers provided by the village council periodically came by to upkeep it. However, the power had been turned off.

"Let me get you a towel so you can dry off." the raven haired boy offered.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'll just end up getting wet again going back home." _Naruto wouldn't continue to wait in this weather would he? _Sakura wished she had a watch. She didn't know what time it was exactly, but if it wasn't for the rain, she would guess that the sun would be setting right about now. _Meet me before sunset. _She flinched inwardly as she recalled what she had told Naruto last night.

Sasuke walked over to her through the dark and placed a hand on the nape of her neck. "Sakura, there is something I've wanted to tell you ever since I came back to the village...No, I wanted to tell you this that night, the night I left."

Sakura was shivering. It was because of the lack of heat in the house and her clothes soaked from the rain, not because of what she thought Sasuke was about to say. _Its just cold._

Sasuke stood there silent as lighting crackled in the sky, lighting up the room for a brief moment. His eyeless stare was more imposing than the one he had with his eyes. The only thing that crossed Sakura's mind as she watched Sasuke lean closer was what it would be like if her first kiss was with Naruto.

xxxxxxxxxx

A distant rumble in the sky promised lightning for later as a single droplet of rain fell every so often, enough to know that the rain was there, but not enough to actually get anything wet. Ino walked over and stared out the window of the staff room as she grabbed the last of her belongings. She would definately need an umbrella. Luckily there were a few here for the staff to use on such occasions.

The blonde saw two familiar figures walking below, arms linked, as they exited the hospital grounds. She frowned with disappointment. _Its none of your business_

Her walk home was uneventful as rain fell down from the sky. It wasn't the stormy type, just a melancholy downpour that could drench your clothes in a matter of seconds from being in it. She continuously thought about what she saw before she left the hospital. _Wasn't Sakura suppose to meet with Naruto? Why was she with Sasuke? She wouldn't stand him up would she? No, Naruto wouldn't even be waiting for her outside in this kind of weather_.

Somehow she had made her way to the base of the Hokage monument without even realizing it. "He's not up there." she repeated to herself, even though she continued to make her way up. "Even if he is, what are you going to say to him?"

She tried to come up with something witty to say if she found him waiting up there, maybe a joke to ease the tension that she new would be there. When the girl finally reached the top she sighed at the sight she saw. Unoccupied. _Your such an idiot, what did you expect._

Ino turned to make her way down the monument feeling a little bit stupid for coming up in the first place, but stopped when she caught a hint of orange from the corner of her eye. There sitting at the edge of the Fourth Hokage's head was Naruto, slumped foward as rain poured down on him. He seemed to be looking down at the village, his hair matted from the rain without his hitaiate. Unexpectedly, instead of feeling sorry for the boy, Ino felt a little peeved at the whole situation. _What were you expecting Naruto? Sakura coming up here and confessing her undying love for you and the both up you living happily ever after? No...thats just my own stupid fantasy!_

Ino cleared her selfish thoughts and walked over to the boy. She had rehearsed several lines she could use if she found him up here, but she didn't say a word to him, only stood there behind him with the umbrella covering the both of them.

Several minutes went by with the two like that until Naruto finally spoke up. "You wanna know something funny? I prepared myself, I was ready the day I made that promise to bring Sasuke back. I knew what the outcome would be, even so, there was this small part of me deep down that asked, why sasuke and not me?" he said in a melancholy tone.

She sat down next to Naruto still holding onto the umbrella, sheltering them from the rain and leaned her head onto Naruto's shoulder. "If I had to compare you and Sasuke I would say you are the sun and Sasuke is the moon. You brighten everyones day and your presence warms our hearts. Sasuke is cool and mysterious, shrouded by darkenss, but sometimes he shows all of himself."

"And Sakura, she's the ocean. Calm one moment, and violent the next, but ultimately only moves for the moon." Naruto finished.

They sat for a few moments in silence. Even though the boy was wet from the rain, Ino still felt warmth from his body as she leaned against him. He suddenly bursted out in a fit of laughter startling her.

"Do, you know how corny that just sounded?." he asked as he turned his face to her.

Ino blushed slightly at the closeness of their faces, his gaze making her heart beat quickly. Naruto leaned his face foward, their lips not quite touching, but the warmth coming from him was enough to send shivers down her back. His eyes were glazed half shut, as he brought his lips to hers. It was only a brief kiss, but it was her first and she would never forget it.

The next kiss came much faster and much more passionately. Time seem to stop for her and she wanted this moment to last forever. She moaned into the kiss and dropped the umbrella as the rain showered down over the two.

When Naruto finally pulled away, she saw a blush on his face and she hoped that hers wasn't as visible as his. Then his eyes widened and he suddenly scooted away from her as if he had just done something terrible to her. Did he regret kissing her?

"Ino...I..." he stuttered.

Naruto gave Ino an almost frightened look as he quickly got up and ran away. She only sat there in bewilderment, too stunned to chase after the boy. _Why did you run Naruto?_

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Shonen Jump magazine as well as other license holders of the Naruto series. This chapter was fueled by Spicy Nacho Doritos and Aquafina.

No Regrets

Chapter four : Moving On

The kiss wasn't intentional. He didn't know what force had driven him to even do it, but he was lost in the moment and it didn't matter to him. It wasn't until after the kiss had ended that he found himself happy, maybe the happiest that he had ever been in his life, and that scared him. So he ran, ran through the downpour of rain with no destination in mind. Why had he run from her? He hadn't done anything wrong. As far as he knew, the both of them were single and the act wasn't against her will. No, that wasn't it. Emotionally, he had been at his weakest and he used Ino as an outlet for his broken heart, regardless if it was against her will or not, he had taken advantage of her.

What scared him the most was how easy it was for him to forget his feelings for Sakura when he kissed Ino. Did his love for the pink haired girl mean that little to him where he could find comfort with any girl? That wasn't true either, if it were he would have accepted Hinata's confession after he defeated Pein. Something was growing deep within his heart and slowly filling the part he had reserved for Sakura.

The blonde stopped running and finally fell down to the wet ground from exhaustion. He had made it all the way to the training grounds at the opposite end of the village from the Hokage monument. He turned onto his back, staring off into the night sky as the rain still poured down onto him without any signs of stopping. He brought a hand over to his chest and gripped at his jacket. His chest hurt.

Naruto sat up. The rain had stopped and his clothers were no longer wet, infact he wasn't even outside anymore. He sat inside of an empty hallway, painted in white, that seem to go on forever. A window or door could be seen along the walls every so often in either direction. He must have passed out and this must be somewhere inside of his mind. The atmosphere wasn't anything like the sewers that usually led to the Kyubi. No, the hallway was soundless and had a way of making him feel calm. Although there were no visible lights in the hallway, everything was easy to see, as if the light exisited without a source. One of the doors to the side opened and someone walked out.

"I was wondering when I would finally get to see you." said the figure.

The boy was at a loss for words. What did this mean? "You're..." he muttered.

"Thats right, I'm you and you're me." said his clone.

"Whats going on?" Naruto inquired.

"Hmmm, Its alot more complicated than I'd like to explain and probably even more complicated than you or even I can understand. Lets just go with it for now because lets face it, you're a hundered times more complicated than even Sasuke-teme is." his clone joked. "Come on walk with me." the clone requested as he turned and started walking down one direction of the hallway.

"Is this anything like when I trained at the Falls of Truth?" he ventured as he followed his clone.

"Mmmm.. maybe, like I said, Im not exactly sure myself. Or is it, you're not sure of yourself?" he questioned. "Didn't I say it was complicated?" he chuckled. "Anyway, lets talk about what has been going on with you recently."

"Huh?" Naruto replied intelligently.

"Is that how I look to others? No wonder everyone calls me dense." The other Naruto sighed. "I'm talking about Sakura and Ino. Why have you been so fickle with Ino?"

"What do you mean? We love Sakura-chan right?" Naruto replied not so confidently.

The other Naruto only facepalmed. "Look, we do love Sakura-chan and probably always will, but you and I both know that we gave up on her a long time ago and we don't love her in THAT way anymore. As for Ino, if you feel even half of what I feel when you are around her then you know exactaly what I mean."

Naruto didn't reply. He knew exactly what his other self was talking about, he had just been too caught up over Sakura and Sasuke that he couldn't admit to what was right in front of him.

They had stopped at one of the windows along the wall. On the other side was a view of a memory of when he awoke in the hospital. Ino was sitting in the chair watching over him as he lay there comatose. "You have to ask yourself, why is she there and not Sakura-chan? Granted she was only there as a friend, but isn't sakura our friend too?"

The other Naruto walked along some more until he got to another window as Naruto followed. "This was before the dinner party when you saw Ino with that slime ball of a guy. Look at her, when you saw her that night, you felt something you haven't felt in a long time. Probably even more so than ever before and it irked you to see that guy sitting across from her, thats the real reason you interrupted."

He couldn't deny it because it was the truth. When he saw Ino that night, he felt like his heart was going to burst from his chest. He hadn't felt like that since he saw Sakura for the first time and even then it was a mild version compared to when he looked at Ino.

"She has always been there right next to Sakura since we were kids, we just didn't see her, or maybe we just didn't want to look."

The boy let the words sink in from his other self. Had he really been so blind to not see something that was in front of him this whole time?

"Anyway, its up to you to do what you want to, for all you know this is just a dream. But if you haven't made a move by the time we become one again, I will. You can count on that!" the other Naruto promised as he slammed both hands into Naruto's chest, pushing him into the door that was behind him. The confident smirk on his clone's face was the last thing he saw before the door slammed shut and faded into the darkness of the room.

Naruto awoke on the couch in his own apartment, dry and changed into a different set of clothes. He could still hear the rain outside his window, but it sounded lighter than before. The room was dark save a small light on the stand next to the other chair in his living room. In that chair sat Kakashi sensei with his face buried into Icha Icha Paradise. _Was that all really just a dream?_

"Mind telling me what you were doing passed out on the training fields in the middle of this rain?" the silver haired Jonin inquired as he peeked his uncovered eye from the book he was reading.

"I'm sorry Kakashi sensei, I must not have all my stamina back yet. I wasn't training out there though, I swear." he replied as he sat up on the couch.

"You're lucky I just happen to be walking by when I saw you run out into that field and pass out." he chided. "Don't worry, I won't tell the Hokage about this, but I'd advise you to take her advice and be more cautious about your recovery." he advised as he got up to leave.

"Kakashi sensei..." the blonde called out. "Have you ever loved someone?"

The man coughed with a look of surprise. "Why? Having trouble with someone you love?" he asked a bit more composed.

Naruto laughed nervously. "NO! Of course not! You see I have this friend , he's been in love with this girl for a very long time, but the girl loves someone else and my friend has known this for a long time as well, but now it seems he is starting to like another girl and he isn't sure if thats ok because maybe that means his love for the first girl wasn't that strong in the first place to switch so easily and that isn't fair to the second girl if he just starts to like her as well..." Naruto rambled.

The man seem to contemplate Naruto's rambling before answering his question. "Without knowing more details, I'm not sure I could give your friend the best advice, not that I'm the best person to get advice from, for that sort of thing. However, I think that when someone finds new love, it doesn't mean that the love they had previously didn't have any meaning to it, or does it make the new love any less meaningful because they have loved before. If that makes any sense." The silver haired Jonin had a way with words that always sounded like there was a hidden meaning to them, at least to Naruto. "Anyway, I have to report to the Hokage. I'm sure she is going to scold me for being late, even though I really do have an excuse this time." the Jonin joked. "If anything you should do what you've always done Naruto. Follow what this tells you is the right thing to do." he added, pointing at the boy's heart. "Oh and one last thing, don't forget to make an appearance at Shikamaru and Ino's birthday party tomorrow and dress formally. Hokage-sama's orders." Naruto didn't get a chance to reply as the Jonin left the apartment in a whirl of leaves.

As he sat there alone, he thought about his dream and Kakashi's words, and about Ino. Naruto blushed as he finally processed that Kakashi had said for HIM to follow his heart. He wouldn't be getting any more sleep that night, that was for sure.

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Ino looked at herself in the mirror.

"You don't need a whole lot of make up dear, just enough to bring out your natural beauty." her mother told her. "We'll put your hair down and curl it." she added.

"No!" Ino replied rather sharply.

"I mean, I want to put it up." she corrected in a more normal tone.

Her mother sighed as she grabbed a black hair ribbon that matched Ino's black dress. "Suit yourself. I'm not sure who you are trying to impress daughter, but everyone woman knows that most men like long wavy hair that is down."

Ino knew exactly who she wanted to impress, or rather she knew that the person liked her hair up, not that he was going to be at the party. Ever since Naruto ran off after they kissed the previous day, she had been looking for the boy around town all day in order to talk with him about it, however, she figured out the hard way that when Naruto didn't want to be found he wasn't going to be. She would almost say that he was avoiding her. _That Idiot._ Ino had decided that she would not hide her feelings anymore and she wasn't going to let him run away from her any longer, no matter how complicated his feelings were.

"With the Hokage hosting this party for you and Shikamaru this year, I'm sure tons of people will be attending. Maybe even some eligible suitors." her mother hinted.

The girl could only sigh at her mother's persistance. "After that last disaster you talked me into, I think I deserve a break from you're match making schemes."

"It was a joke dear. I'm only saying you should have a good time tonight, you are turning eighteen after all." her mother added sweetly.

"Well it wasn't funny."

Ino's mother finished with her hair and stared into the mirror along with her from behind. "You look wonderful dear!" she complimented, squeezing Ino's arm affectionately.

She felt like some doll her mother dressed up for amusement, although she had to hand it to the woman, she was pretty good at what she did. The way that her mother did her makeup and hair really did bring out her natural beauty and made Ino feel alot more confident.

When Ino arrived to the party at the pavillion near the Hokage's tower, many of the guests were already there enjoying themselves to the food and entertainment provided by the Hokage. The rain had stopped before morning and most of it had dried up throughout the day. Luckily the evening wasn't so cold as to where it was uncomfortable for everyone and the building was decorated beautifully with flowers provided by her family's shop. Overall she was impressed with the scene and a bit humbled by it, after all, it was done to celebrate her and Shikamaru's eighteenth birthday.

Ino saw the Hokage standing near one of the refreshment tables along with Shizune-san, Shikaku-san, and her father. The older blonde wore a silk green dress that somehow made her bust seem even bigger than usual, while shizune was in a conservative black skirt and white sweater. The men were all in tuxedos with only the neck piece varying between them. "Good envening Hokage-sama, Shizune-san, Nara-san, father." she greeted as she walked over to the group.

"You look marvelous Ino." Shizune complimented.

"I'd have to agree." Tsunade added. "Trying to impress someone that will be here tonight?" she teased knowingly.

Inoichi cleared his throat. "Ahem...not on my watch." her father defened.

Everyone chuckled at the flustered father's expense. "This place looks amazing Hokage-sama, you really shouldn't have gone so far just for Shikamaru and my birthday." Ino stated with a slight blush as she looked around the pavillion.

"Nonsense, you are both valuable shinobi of this village, you should think more highly of yourselves. Besides, this party isn't just for you and Shikamaru, it is also to commemorate the end of the war. With all that has happened in the past few months, we all deserve a little time to celebrate." the woman stated as everyone only nodded in agreement. "So, don't worry yourself over it and enjoy the party. Theres plenty of food and entertainment to go around."

Ino bowed to the Hokage thanking her once more before she left to discretely look around the pavillion for a certain someone. She saw many familiar faces, but not the one she was looking for. The blonde felt a little disappointed since she was hoping to corner Naruto here and get a chance to talk with him about what had happened the previous day. However, Ino did get a glimpse of Sakura within the crowd wearing a sparkling red dress and standing next to Sasuke, arms linked. The blond wanted to run over and strangle the girl, but decided against the idea since it was none of her business what Sakura did with Sasuke. She had to admit that the two did look good together, although Ino didn't envy her pink haired friend at all. The one she wanted to be holding was not Sasuke, but Naruto, however she feared that the boy wasn't going to show up at all tonight.

The entertainment for the evening consisted mostly of well known shinobi performing various skills on a stage that was set up at one end of the pavillion, such as Sai showing off his ink techniques or Yamato-san creating things with his wood element, although Gai sensei and Lee's two man workout show was probably the most unique out of everyone's performance.

After sometime the Hokage walked out onto the stage to make an announcement. "I'd like to thank everyone for coming here tonight to not only celebrate Ino and Shikamaru's birthday but also to celebrate the end of the war and the beginning of an era of peace. I hope that everyone has enjoyed the performances tonight by some of our fine shinobi, but its now time for the main event! Will the birthday boy and girl please step up onto the stage?" the woman called out.

Ino didn't like where this was going, where ever it was, it was sure to end in embarrassment for both Shikamaru and her. Despite her disapproval, she was coersed onto the stage by her fellow peers along with her pineapple haired teamate.

"Now that you are both up here, I will announce a propostion for everyone else here tonight, one that has my seal of approval." thier leader said with a little hint of scheming in her voice. "We will hold a little charity auction, all the profits going towards the academy of coarse, but everyone will have a chance to bid on both Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino and the highest bidder of each auction will get to finish the evening off alone with the lucky birthday boy or girl!"

Some cheering could be heard in the crowd as Ino facepalmed. Only her mother and the Hokage were dubious enough to scheme up something like this. She sent a glare towards her mother who seemed to be enjoying herself way too much for her liking.

"Now that everyone knows the rules, we will start the bidding with Shikamaru at five thousand rio." Tsunade announced before either of the two could protest.

Everyone seem to be silent for a moment until TenTen yelled out "Five thousand!" Knowing the girl, she only did it to get things rolling more so than to actually have a chance at a night with Shikamaru.

Temari followed suit with a whopping twentyfive thousand rio and for a moment it almost seemed that she was going to win the auction until a squirrly looking girl in the back with glasses yelled out thirty thousand. It was Hisajima Shiho from the cryptanalysis squad. Ino had heard a rumor that the girl had a little crush for her lazy teamate but she was never able to get any kind of confirmation on it.

The girl made her way towards the front of the crowd with a light blush on her cheeks as she stared at Shikamaru up on stage. Ino saw Temari glare at the bespectacled girl and knew that she wouldn't give up so easily.

"Fouty thousand Rio!" Temari yelled out in retalliation.

"Fifty!"

"Sixty!"

The two girls fought over Shikamaru as everyone cheered in excitement over the battle until Temari finally yelled out "One hundered and fifty thousand rio!"

Shiho slumped in defeat at the high stakes as the other girl gave her a confident smirk.

"Sold to Temari-san of Tsuna for the sum of one hundered and fifty thousand rio!" Tsunade yelled out.

The sand-nin strolled up onto the stage to collect her prize. She gave a bow to the Hokage and to everyone in the audience, but the girl didn't even say a word to Shikamaru, only smirked at him and nodded towards the exit as she made her way off stage.

The boy gave the Hokage an incredulous look.

She only shooed him off stage signaling that he must follow suit and that his turn was now over.

"How troublesome." was his only response as he made followed Temari out of the pavillion.

"One hundered and fifty thousand rio is going to be really tough to match." Tsunade said turning back to the crowd. "But I want all the guys out there to dig deep in their wallets because the next auction is the gorgeous Yamanaka Ino! Doesn't she look beautiful in her black strapless dress everyone?" she teased as she pulled Ino towards her. Most likely to stop her from trying to run away.

Many of the men cheered at the prospect of being able to win a night with Ino.

"Do I hear five thousand rio to start out?" Tsunade ventured.

"Five thousand!" Ino's father called out from the front of the crowd. He turned and gave all the other men up front a dangerous glare, daring them to even try and make a bid on his daughter. The crowd went silent really quickly as Inoichi crossed his arms and turned back to look at his daughter with a smug look of victory.

Ino saw her mother give a stiff jab into her fathers ribs as she facefaulted for the umpteenth time. _Why do have such weirdos for parents?_

"ONE MILLION RIO!" someone yelled out from up above.

Everyone turned to look up towards the voice but it was too dark to make out who it was. The room was silent as everyone waited in anticipation. The figure jumped down from his position in the rafters and landed right on to the stage, directly in front of Ino.

_Naruto!_ The girl blushed heavily as she was trying to process what was happening.

"One million rio Ba-chan. You know im good for it." Naruto said to the surprised woman. He took Ino's hand firmly and dashed out the back of the stage, dragging the confused girl along with him, and leaving behind an even more confused crowd of people.

The last thing Ino saw as she got dragged out of the pavillion by Naruto was the devastated look that Sakura gave her.

To be continued...

Author's Notes:

First I'd like to thank everyone that is following this story and especially thank the ones that have reviewed it. I really appreciate those of you who take the time to tell me what you like or dislike about the story. Secondly I apologize for taking longer to post this chapter than the others as well as it being shorter than them. This chapter has gone through three rewrites and although there was more I wanted to add to it, I felt that it was more dramatic to end it the way I did. I won't really go into what my intentions are for the characters or where I'm going with the plot here in the notes, hopefully I do that well enough in my writing instead. However I will point out that in this chapter, I did give some information about Naruto during his little dream scene that I didn't intend to at first. I thank everyone again for supporting this story and I hope to deliver more interesting chapters soon. Oh and one last thing, I did fix some minor typos in previous chapters, but it isn't necessary to go back and read them since none of the events changed in any way.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Shonen Jump magazine as well as other license holders of the Naruto series. This chapter was fueled by Pringles and White Out Mt. Dew.

No Regrets

Chapter five : Is This What It Really Means To Be In Love?

The lights from below illuminated the night as a cool breeze blew acrossed her, chilling her a little with only a thin dress protecting her from it. Her hands were cold, but Naruto's were so warm. Ino stole quick glances of the boy beside her from the corner of her eyes, but he had yet to look at her. He looked so handsome in that traditional black tuxedo and matching black bow tie, his hair waving in the silent breeze. Naruto still held her hand firmly, but had yet to say a word, only staring down onto the village. Why had Naruto chosen to bring her back up to the monument of all places? Her chest tightened a little from anxiety. She wanted the silence to end, even if it only meant that Naruto would turn her down, the anxiety was killing her.

"Naruto, I..."

"I can't say I no longer love Sakura..." he finally spoke cutting her off. He had yet to look at her.

Was he really going to reject what had happened between them the day before? Ino gripped at he chest as if the act would calm it in some way.

"But..." he turned to look at her directly in the eyes. There was no confusion in his, only clarity and sincereness. "...I can say that recently all I have been thinking about is you and in all the time that I have chased after Sakura, she has never made my heart feel the way you make it feel right now."

Naruto brought her hand up to his chest to let her feel his heart beating wildly, it was even more chaotic than her own.

"I brought you up here because I wanted to do this properly, not that yesterday wasn't great or anything, it was amazing in fact. I just don't want you to think what I'm about to ask is a result from us kissing yesterday, but a result of my feelings when I look at you." he said firmly. "Ino...will you go out with me?"

Ino felt her heart jump up to her throat, back down to the pit of her stomach, and back up again as her face flushed with heat and her ears burned. She felt like her knees would give out at any moment if she did not brace herself and support them in some way. The platinum blonde jumped into the boy's arms, wrapping her own around his neck, giving him the most passionate kiss she could physically conjure up. Ino didn't know if the heat was coming from her or from Naruto, but her whole body felt warm from it and she lost herself. When she came to and finally broke the kiss, without her realizing it, the two of them had made it to the ground with her straddling him from on top. "You have no idea how much I've been wanting you to ask me that."

Naruto looked into her eyes deeply as he blushed and gave her a smile, the one smile that she had been wanting more than anything, a loving one.

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With the comotion of Naruto literally swooping in and taking off with Ino subsiding, a group of certain Konaha kunoichi gathered together in order to discuss the latest event involving the whisker faced nin.

"What in the world just happened?" TenTen inquired in shock. "A million rio? That's an S-rank commission if your lucky! Not only that, but it was Naruto! Anyone else not see that coming?"

Indeed, Sakura was in shock over the recent events. She had anticipated that maybe a few girls would try and take a shot at Naruto's affection, in light of his recent growth in popularity over the female population. In fact, she had growing suspicions that even Ino might have been interested in the boy as well. However, what she had not expected was for Naruto to take the initiative with any other girl than herself. Did he not say that he loved her? She was so sure that no matter what she had done to him or how long she made him wait, Naruto would always be there for her. Perhaps it was just her own conceited ego, or maybe karma finally delivering it's justice to her for trying to hang on to two loves at once, but having Sasuke and possibly losing Naruto left a bitter taste of longing that she could not get rid of. She felt like she had lost the winning prize and was only left with a consolation. The pink haired girl hated herself for thinking that.

"Sakura, your his teamate. Did he say anything to you?" the twin bunned girl continued. She just shook her head in ignorance and remained silent, not trusting herself to not say anything she might regret later. Sakura knew that she had no right to feel hurt, especially after what happened with Sasuke the day before. It may have been Sasuke who took the lead, but she did nothing to stop it either. No matter how many excuses she gave herself, it did not make her heart ache any less.

"I don't know Naruto-san very well, but I was under the impression that he somewhat had a thing for Sakura-san." Shiho pointed out.

"Thats like old news." TenTen corrected. "Nobody hangs on to a one sided crush that long, especially one from that long ago."

"You're wrong TenTen-san." Hinata commented. "You don't know how devoted Naruto-san can be. Something must have happened." The shy Hyuga had a look of dismay on her face that matched how Sakura felt.

"Achaa..I'm so sorry Hinata-chan. I totally forgot that you confessed to Naruto." TenTen apologized.

"Its ok TenTen-san, I'm happy for Naruto-kun. As long as he is doing it for himself and not for anyone else, I'm happy for him, even if it isn't me that he chooses." Hinata said in a resolved tone.

"That sounds like the words of a quitter. I thought Naruto taught you to never give up Hinata." the Hokage butted in to the group conversation .

Sakura wondered if it was her master's secret talent to purposely interject with a quip. She always seemed to be coming into the room or joining converstions that way, probably to catch you off guard more than anything.

"Ah, Hokage-sama...we were only talking about..." the Hyuga girl stuttered.

"Its ok Hinata, no reason to be shy. Don't let what happen discourage you though, its not like he asked Ino to marry him or anything. It was a just a charity auction, I wouldn't put any stock into it." said the busty woman.

Sakura could have sworn that her master gave her a glance when she said that, as if trying to tell her to not give up as well. No, it wasn't that kind of look, there seem to be deeper meening to it than that for her. It was more of a "Sorry, but you had your chance. Its time to move on." look. She couldn't blame her master. Naruto's body language, his tone, his confident smile, something had definately changed within him and she knew that he had moved on. She shook her head to clear it, her thoughts were running away from her in a downward spiral of self antagonism. She had to leave there.

"You ok Sakura?" Tsunade asked in a concerned tone. "You look a little pale. Maybe you should have Sasuke take you home."

"No, I'm ok." she lied.

"Speaking of Sasuke, what in the world possessed you to be with him. I mean he's great and all, well...was great and all, but you had Naruto in the palm of your hands! I can't believe you let him go." TenTen snickered.

Sakura gave the girl a hurtful look. It was one thing to think it herself, but for someone to point it out was just salt in the wounds.

"TenTen-san is right. If I had Naruto-kun wrapped around my fingers the way you did, I would have never let him go. Not ever!" Hinata added.

Was everyone against her now? Even Hinata?

"You can only blame yourself Sakura, but whats done is done and you should move on. Besides, you have Sasuke, he's the one you were after from the beginning anyway. He may not be Naruto, but hey, he's a close second right?." Even her master was digging the knife in deeper now.

"She doesn't have a choice now, even if she wanted to choose Naruto over Sasuke." came from Ino as she joined the group while straitening out her dress, as if she was just putting it back on. "He's mine now."

Where had Ino come from? And why does she look like she just got done wrestling with someone?

"Too bad forehead. You have no idea what you missed out on. I'm talking wow!" Ino gestured suggestively as she made a measurment with both her hands. "Naruto just knows how to please a woman, if you know what I mean." Ino was mocking her now.

The room was spinning and she wanted to vomit. All the other girls were laughing at her with pointed fingers and mocking her for making such a huge mistake in loosing Naruto. She saw Sasuke from the corner of her eyes and tried to reach out for help, but he didn't reach back, he only stood there with that eyeless gaze of his.

"I'm no one's consolation prize. Especially not to the dobe." he said coldly as he turned away from her.

Sakura fell to her knees in tears as the mocking and laughter continued. She wished that someone would save her, save her like the way Naruto always use to.

"EVERYONE BACK OFF!" Naruto yelled out pushing everyone away.

Sakura looked up to see Naruto staring down at her with his hand held out. He was there to help her, despite everything, he was there to help her when she needed him, like always. She cried. He only smiled in return as he gently picked her up into his powerful arms, but he didn't need that power to save anyone, because that smile of his was enough to save her from anything. She continued to cry heavily into his chest as she clung to him. "I'm so sorry Naruto! I'm so sorry!" she cried repeatedly.

"Shhhh..shhhhh..." he comforted.

Naruto was the only one that could ever take her tears away from her, he was the only one that could ever make her feel better. She sniffed and looked up into that handsome whiskered face of his, but his smile was gone, only a expressionless face remained.

"You SHOULD be sorry." he sneered as he dropped her.

Sakura landed with a thud on her bedroom floor, tangled in her blankets, and face wet from crying as tears still fell from her eyes. She looked around the dark room to get her bearings strait and remembered the night's events. _It was a dream. It was just a dream. It was only a dream._ However, telling herself that repeatedly did not help her get back to sleep.

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Ino stretched like a feline as she blissfully awoke from her slumber. She felt around her bed and pouted, remembering that Naruto was not there with her, the ex-rated parts from the night before were only her dreams. She recalled the night's events on top of the Hokage monument. The two of them were deep into their make out session as she reached the peak of her arousal when, surprisingly, Naruto stopped them from going any further. She felt a little embarrassed because her body didn't want him to stop, but instead wanted him go all the way. Judging from the large bulge that was pressing against her groin, Naruto's body was agreeing with her's as well. However he was right in stopping, taking things too far too fast could end up hurting their growing relationship. Their relationship...she could definately get used to that.

She continued to think about the boy as she made her way to the bathroom for a shower. Naruto had escorted her home and as they stood there at her door he asked her to go on a date with him the next day, to which she had no hesitation in agreeing. He gave a her a cute akward kiss with a blush, as if they had not just been kissing in such a graphic way that would make the great Jiraya-sama turn his head in embarrassment, and left, periodically turning to look back as he walked away to see if she had gone inside. "He's so cute!" she giggled to herself. She was still trying to get used to the idea that Naruto and her were now officially a couple.

As she showered, she could still feel where Naruto's body had pressed against hers. Just reminiscing made her body hot and her head fuzzy. She had no idea that anyone could ever make her physcially feel that way, even when they weren't with her. Thankfully she was already in the shower and would not have to take another after she was done fantasizing over the blond boy.

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The time, noon, the meeting place, in front of the shopping district. Naruto had arrived an hour early, going over his date plans as he anxiously awaited for Ino to arrive. He felt nervous. Even during missions or battles that he had fought, he never felt like this. This would be his first date and he had dreamed many times on what it would be like. Although when he dreamed, the girl had always been Sakura, and even though it was never anticipated, he was glad that his first date was with Ino. It was odd. With Sakura, Naruto had always felt the need to be somebody else, someone like Sasuke. It was one of the reasons why he competed with him so much. However, with Ino, he didn't feel that way. He felt that he could be himself with her, it was an odd sense of comfort with the blonde girl that he never quite felt with Sakura.

"Sorry, were you waiting here long for me?" asked a voice from behind him.

Stunning. That was the first thing that came to Naruto's mind as he turned to look at the girl behind him, simply stunning. Her outfit consisted of a thin baby blue top that laced up from the front, a white under shirt, and white capri pants. It was simple enough, yet still had an impact on him. Her hair was tied up with a matching baby blue ribbon in that cute way he liked, the way that always made him feel warm inside. Is this what it really means to be in love? Somehow, he felt that he was getting closer to answering that question the more he spent time with her.

"You look beautiful." he finally replied to the girl, saying the only thing that was going through his mind. "I mean, no i haven't been waiting long at all." he corrected himself bashfully. _How lame can you get! Come on get it together, don't screw this up!_

She smiled at him. He could die right about now and still be happy. "You don't look so bad yourself."

Honestly, he felt a little undeserving compared to his date. He had on a plain white long sleeve shirt with an orange short sleeve button shirt over the top that was left unbuttoned, and a pair of jeans. Maybe he should have gone with more of a masculine color instead of his favorite orange. He decided that he should take the lead and nervously took her hand with his. "Lets start with a little shopping." he wanted to facepalm at his lameness. Why couldn't he be more smoother with words like Shikamaru, or even Neiji.

"Sure I'd like that." she smiled sweetly.

He took her to several shops, mostly clothing based and at each location, Ino had tried on different outfits for him. Naruto thought that she looked amazing in every single one of them. She could dress in men's clothing and he would still think that she looked great. He was the one that was suppose to be showing her a good time, but it seemed he was just enjoying himself by watching her. He really needed to step it up and give a her a good time. _I'll definately show her a better time at the arcade!_

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It had taken most of the morning to get ready for her date. Tomorrow she would have to clean her room because her entire wardrobe laid strewn about. It wasn't like her at all to be confused about what to wear, but she wanted to look nice for him. She wanted to look elegant, but still be comfortable enough to have fun with him.

There he stood at the enterence to the shopping district. Orange wasn't exactly her favorite color and it was hard for people to wear it well, but Naruto always seem to pull it off no matter how he wore it. She thought he looked really cute. It was rare to see her fellow shinobi in such casual clothing.

_Good, he hasn't noticed me yet._ She took a deep breath before announcing her own presence. _Don't screw this up girl!_ "Sorry, were you waiting here long for me?"

He turned to look at her and his gaze made her a little self conscious. "You look beautiful...I mean no, I haven't been waiting long at all."

Ino's face flushed. His compliments made her feel giddy inside and she didn't even remember what happend afterwards, but by the time she realized what was happening, Naruto had taken her hand and was leading her down the street to the different clothing stores in the district. She could die happy right now.

Naruto had an innocent and a bit of akwardness to him during their shopping. She found it rather cute and really enjoyed herself as she tried on different outfits for him just to see what kind of reaction she got from him.

The next part of their date, Naruto led them to an arcade. She thought that he would have taken them to see a movie or something like any other guy would, but she didn't mind at all. She found herself enjoying their time together much more than if they were to go and watch a movie. It wasn't a traditional date, but this way they were able to talk and physically enjoy each other's company and not have to worry about disturbing the people around them.

"Lets try this one out." he suddenly said, pointing to a large looking machine.

_Couple's game?_ The game was simple enough. You put in your tokens and pressed a button as a light flashed around on different panels. Which ever category the light landed on was the one that decided the out come of the prize at the end. There were two parts to the game. The first part was choosing the type of prize and then second was the prize itself. Naruto put the tokens into the machine and they started the roulette together by pressing the big green start button on the control panel. The light bounced around from panel to panel in an over exaggerated flashy way as some fast paced up beat tune played.

"Stop it with me on three ok?" he instructed. "One, two, three!." They both pressed the button together and the light started slow down from each panel and after a few seconds it landed on one.

"Looks like we got stuffed animals." he stated. That wasn't so bad. It beat landing on matching couple's t-shirts. Next would be choosing the stuffed animal itself. The male stuffed animal was first. "You press for the male side and I'll press for the female one. It will be more fun this way." he smiled. "You keep the one you get and I'll keep the one I get, this way they can keep each of us company when we can't be together." She thought his sense of romance was cute.

The light flashed, bouncing along the panels once more. Even though it wasn't a game where you had to win since you always got a prize, Ino found herself watching the light trying to make it land on a specific panel. She slammed her hand on a button and the light slowed down landing on its target. "Yes!" she celebrated. The prize dropped down into the dispenser and she reached in to claim it. She stared at a spunky looking orange fox with sunglasses while posing with a victory sign, in her hands. It was perfect.

"Ok now its my turn." Naruto let the light flash for a few seconds before stopping it.

"No way! Definately not! I'm throwing this away and we're doing it over." she defied childlike as she reached in to throw the stuffed animal away, but Naruto was much faster than her and grabbed it first.

"I want to keep it. I think she's really cute." he said sinscerely. It was a stuffed pig with a flower on her ear, posing with an embarrassed look and a blush on her cheeks. Ino had to wonder if some twisted sense of fate made the light land on it or if Sakura herself was hiding in the machine somewhere laughing at her.

"Isn't that right Inoooo-chan!" he added playfully while giving the stuffed pig a kiss. The act made Ino blush furiously.

The sky had been dark for quite a while by the time they reached the restaurant where they would eat. Surprisingly, it wasn't Ichiraku's, but a steak house. _I guess Naruto doesn't eat Ramen all the time._ Ino giggled to herself at her own joke.

Naruto politely opened the enterance door for her and she stepped in, only to stop in the waiting room. What the hell were THEY doing there? In the waiting room sat Sakura and Sasuke who were waiting for a table.

"Ino! What a surprise seeing you here." Sakura truely did have a surprised look on her, but her expression changed quickly once Naruto entered behind Ino.

The blonde girl couldn't believe her luck, of all the people to see her and Naruto together on their first date, it had to be Sakura. Ino didn't even know what to say. "Sakura...this isn't what you think it is..." _What the hell are you saying? Of course its what she thinks it is. Why are you being so evasive?_

"Naruto...you're here with Ino..." Sakura said with a hesitant frown. Ino wanted to be somewhere else, anywhere but here. What was Naruto going to say?

Suddenly Naruto reached over and put his arm around her and pressed her closer against himself. "Yeah, Ino-chan and I are dating now." he said without a hint of hesitation. "It looks like there is a long wait. Don't worry I reserved us a table in advance. Sorry Sakura, normally I would say why don't we all share a table, but I kinda want to be alone with Ino-chan. You and Sasuke have a good time though, we'll catch up later."

Ino looked at the other girl as Sakura gave her a blank and unreadable stare. Naruto pressed her along past the other couple and she swore she could feel Sakura's eyes digging into her back all the way to their designated table.

"Sorry about that." Naruto apologized after the two of them sat down. "I didn't expect to see them here. I hope it didn't seem like I was using you. I wanted it to be clear with Sakura why I was with you so there wasn't any room for misunderstanding." Normally the misunderstanding would be exactly what Naruto was trying to be clear about. He may have been a little blunt, but he had taken that sense of uneasiness right from her and squashed it into oblivion.

"No, its fine. You were perfect." she smiled. "Will, you excuse me? I'm need to use the ladies room."

Once in the restroom, Ino stared at herself in the mirror as she washed her hands. "Don't worry, you don't have anything to worry about. Just believe in him and you'll be fine." she encouraged herself. She put on a confident smile and turned to leave when Sakura walked in. This time Sakura did not have a surprised look on her.

The two silently stared at each other, although, glared at each other would be more accurate. "I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to pull, but don't think that I'll give up that easily."

"Give up on what exactly?" Ino fired back.

Sakura seem to be taken aback at Ino's question. "It's like when we were kids all over again. I started to like Sasuke-kun, so you did too and now you're trying to take Naruto from me." she replied in a flustered haste.

Ino wanted to punch the girl out. She wanted to argue with her about Naruto, about Sasuke, about everything, but instead only said three words before leaving the other girl alone in the restroom. "Sakura...grow up."

To be continued...

Author's Notes:

Thanks again to all of you who are reading this story. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. One thing I would like to ask is if anyone thinks I need to make the rating M. I don't plan on Writing anything graphic, but I'm not sure how suggestive I can be without going overboard. As always I appreciate everyones feedback and I hope to deliver more interesting chapters for you soon.


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